What You Can Find At The Boarder
by Black Rose TD
Summary: My first Naruto Fanfic. A Sakura X Gaara fic, no like no read. More pairings inside. Mild angst, mild romance, high...adult themes in later chapters. Light on the angst though cause I'm bad at it. XD
1. Chapter 1

Ridiculously long author's note (may be skipped if you want): I just wanted to say that this is my first Naruto fanfic and I'm sorry if any characters seem OOC. I also apologize if this story seems to have no direction. It really kind of doesn't because I got the idea for this from a dream that I had that I thought would be good for a fanfic and now I have to write an actual story around it. -.- I will try to update once a week but since I'm writing for five other stories and a sort of RP Sailor Moon story on my friends sight (Find link on my profile it's really awesome and of course Seika is the best character My character but I never said that. ) I wouldn't bet any money on that. Every two weeks at the most. Thanks for taking the time to read this and now on to what you really want.

"Hey baby," a deep voice said from behind her. "You don't come here often, cause if you did I for damn sure would have noticed _you_ by now." She sighed and turned to find Genma's eyes lingering on her barely covered rear. She rolled her eyes and went back to her drink. Sitting by herself at the bar, Sakura had only been seeking a few moments of peace before going home to change out of the disguise she had utilized for the mission that she had returned from not even an hour before and go to sleep.

"Go find someone who's interested Genma," she said after taking a swig from her drink.

"Aww don't be like that," he said resting one of his hands on her hip. She smiled invitingly and leaned into him to whisper in his ear.

"Since when do you hit on underage girls," she asked and felt him stiffen and pull back to look at her. She gave him a slow blink and a bland look that she had copied from Kakashi. His eyes widened and he smiled widely.

"Sakura." She finished her drink and put her money on the counter.

"Yeah, now keep your hands to yourself, pedophile." He laughed loudly as he watched her walk out of the bar. He shook his head with a laugh as he headed back to his usual table with his usual drinking buddies.

"What happened? You get shot down?" Anko asked with a smirk.

"When did Sakura fill out?" he asked Kakashi, completely ignoring her. Everyone turned to look at the senbon sucking shinobi. He just shrugged and gulped down a freshly poured drink. From behind one of his many orange books Kakashi just shrugged sagely and turned a page. Genma sighed then stared off into space for a moment. "I wouldn't have minded be walked over in those heals though."

At her small apartment Sakura tiredly walked over to her stereo system and turned it on. Kimberley Locke's voice poured out of the speakers and sighed as she sat down on the sea-foam green comforter on her bed. She took off the thigh high black high heeled boots that had accentuated her long legs but made her feet want to scream, not that anyone could tell of course because beauty was pain, and lay them in their box on her floor. Setting both feet on the floor she wiggled her toes in the soft pink carpet and stood to take off the short red skirt that barely covered anything, leaving her in a cropped mesh tube top and black string thong.

Quickly stripping off the latter she sighed in relief, glad to finally be rid of what she had aptly named butt floss. Sakura rooted through her underwear drawer for a pair of the sensible cotton panties that she had missed so much on the three month long solo mission on which she was to garner information on a lord that was supposedly smuggling illegal drugs in and out of the country. "Why hanging out with druggies means you have to dress like a whore I'll never know," she muttered under her breath as she stripped off the tube top and pulled on a sports bra and a cotton t-shirt. She paused at the side of her bed and looked at the bathroom door then shook her head. "I'll shower in the morning," she muttered before dropping onto the bed face down.

Sakura stood under the spray and let the water cascade down her body. She shook her, now muddy purple, hair out of her face with a grimace knowing that some of the dye was smudged on her face. For the sixth time she squirted cherry scented shampoo into her hand and rubbed it into her scalp. While working the shampoo into a fine lather she heard a loud banging outside and could clearly make out Naruto's loud voice through two walls and over the stereo that was drowning out the sound of the shower. How he could ever be heard over 3 Days Grace was amazing and she shook her head and sighed. She had been hoping to have at least a day to herself before being bombarded by her boys.

She held her head under the spray, ignoring him. "Aww come on Sakura! We know you're home, we can hear the music!" Reaching out of the shower she grabbed the plastic bag encased stereo remote and hit the volume button to turn up the music now that the rock had been replaced with the pop fluff of Cascada. "SAKURA!" Humming along Sakura again soaped her hair, scrubbing hard. "Sakura please! We're gonna be late!" Sakura quirked a brow. Late? Had she forgotten something? She wracked her brain as she once again rinsed her hair, happy that it was now at least some semblance of its normal color.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, first wrapping her hair then her body in separate towels. Stepping into her room she heard repeated pounding on her front door. She slipped her feet into a pair of white slippers and stomped to the door. "What?" she yelled as she yanked open the door, expecting to find only Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai standing there. She blinked in surprise when she saw almost everyone in the hall.

Shikamaru leaned against the wall looking board; Choji stood off to the left a bag of chips in one hand and dango in another; Ino stood trying to play up her assets to a disinterested Sasuke; Kiba was leering at her, the beginnings of a nose bleed evident; Shino stood with his hands in his pockets looking too cool for the room; Hinata stood to Kiba's left doing that thing with her fingers blushing, most likely from close proximity to Naruto; Neji leaned against the wall next to Shikamaru looking extremely put out; TenTen smiled and waved; Lee looked over at her with hearts in his eyes, eyes staying firmly on her face unlike Kiba's; Sasuke looked slightly surprised to see her in only a towel, a blush staining his cheeks; Sai looked blank; Naruto stood in the middle of everyone, trademark wide smile on his face until he too noticed her semi-nudity.

Sakura rolled her eyes as his nose promptly began to bleed profusely and turned to walk back to her bed room to get dressed, leaving her door open for the others to enter. "What are you all doing here?" she asked after she had turned down the stereo.

"We all got summons from Tsunade. We're supposed to meet her in an hour. Did you get one?" Naruto asked loudly through the crack she had left in her room door.

"No. Just because you all got one doesn't mean that I would too Naruto," she said as she walked out in casual attire. She had on a pink tank top and baggy black sweat pants that dragged the ground. At that moment some one knocked on her door. Neji opened it to find Kotetsu at the door.

"Haruno Sakura?" he asked looking through the throng of people gathered in her living room.

"Here," she said walking to the door. He handed her a scroll then inclined his head in good-bye then disappeared in a puff of smoke and leaves. She unrolled the scroll, already knowing what it would say. She was being summoned to see the Hokage in an hour. There goes my day off, she thought with a sigh. Sakura looked around at her group of friends and stopped, doing a double take when her eyes rested on Kiba. "Where's Akamaru, Kiba?" she asked, not remembering a time that she had ever seen him with out his K-9 companion.

"Out side," he said. "He's gotten a little big to be in small spaces with groups of people." She nodded her understanding then walked to the small refrigerator in the kitchen area of her apartment. Upon opening it she found it to be completely empty. Great, she thought.

"Well people," she said to her friends. "We have an hour to kill and I for one am starving."

"Let's get ramen!" She smiled slightly. She'd never admit it but she had really started to miss that idiot.

Standing in front of Tsunade's desk, Sakura let her eyes settle on her green painted toenails and suppressed a sigh. Boarder patrol. All of them. Great, she thought. "So you all will be spending a minimum of six months at the boarder. Ibiki is your commanding officer and Shikamaru has been chosen as head of the strategist team. You will choose from this group and any already at the boarder to be apart of your team," Tsunade said, her last words directed at Shikamaru. He nodded. "Sakura, you have been appointed head medic and already have a staff assembled in the infirmary at your post but if there is anyone you would like to add to your staff when you get there run it by Ibiki first." Sakura nodded. "Everything else should be covered in your respective scrolls so that is all. You all depart tomorrow. Dismissed."

The crowd dispersed quickly and relatively quietly with the exception of Naruto and Kiba who talked loudly about their mission. Six months, Sakura thought with mild disgust. She would have liked at least a full two days before being assigned another mission. Rolling her eyes in acceptance Sakura made her way over to Hinata and matched her step to the dark haired girls then slowed. Unconsciously Hinata followed her, as Sakura had known she would. Finally she seemed to notice that she and Sakura were falling behind and turned to look at her pink haired companion. "I want you to be apart of my medic staff," Sakura said getting straight to the point. Hinata paled visibly and shook her head viciously. "Not as an actual medic," Sakura explained before Hinata could verbally object. "You have a calming presence and I want you to work recovery. You know, just make sure the patients are comfortable and things like that. No actual blood work." Hinata's face regained some of its natural color as she thought it over. Though Hinata would always come through in a crisis she would almost always be overcome by her squeamishness after everything was said and done.

Despite this the girl could work miracles in rehab. She seemed to be peace embodied to most recovering patients with her soft voice and soothing presence. She always had a kind word of encouragement for patients during physical therapy and could always get that one last push from them when everyone thought they had nothing left to give. Finally Hinata nodded her assent. "Alright," she said. "But please…" her sentence trailed off and Sakura nodded her understanding.

"No blood unless absolutely necessary," Sakura agreed. They smiled and lengthened their strides to catch up with the others.

A/N: Sorry if this seemed a bit rushed. It was. I was racing the clock, trying to get this done before my bedtime. (Yes I'm 15 and I have a bedtime. I'm not ashamed to admit it. crosses arms over chest) Review if you're in the mood and point out my many flaws but please say something nice too. Sensitive ego you know. I'm pretty sure this story will get better once I actually get the chance to sit down and write without being rushed. Chapters will probably be longer too. I'm not sure who I'll pair Sakura with for fluff yet but I'm leaning more towards Gaara than Kakashi at the moment. I'll have to think on it. Thanks for reading.

Black Rose


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura lay panting in a pool of blood trying to get her eyes to focus as she stared at the leafy canopy above her. She gasped as pain radiated through her stomach and coughed up blood. The smell of gore choking her as she thought back to the minuets before, trying to see if there was anything that she could have done differently even though she knew there was not. As if watching someone else she could see herself running almost frantically trying to get away. She moved through the tree tops as quickly as she could, pain radiating up her leg with every step.

She was slowing down and she could hear the sounds of her pursuers getting closer. She grimaced and shook blood from her eyes as quickly as she could and tried to increase her pace. Her heart pounded in her chest and she gasped for breath as her burning lungs strained for sustenance. The small job she had done to start healing her leg had been undone long ago in the beginning of her mad dash for the boarder and the blood streamed down her leg into her sandal making it squish uncomfortably with each step.

Leaping franticly from tree to tree, feeling the blood pool in her shoe she felt the thin branch beneath her feet snap. Stifling a cry of surprise she tumbled to the ground, hitting the soggy earth with a muffled thump. Lying still she tried to gather her thoughts and force her dazed body into motion. Gasping for breath she heard the crackle of static over the small radio in her ear. "Haruno," Ibiki called softly over the airwaves. She switched on the mouthpiece as she got to her feet with a soft groan.

"Copy," she grunted, limping to a near by tree to hide behind as she heard her pursuers close in on her. She had five minutes at best.

"Status report."

"Toshi and Sobia are dead," she said softly, referring to her former team mates on the mini mission that they had been assigned to, pulling out various senbon and kunai and tying her remaining paper bombs to the ends.

"And you," he asked when she didn't say more.

"I'm still breathing," she said grimly. "Approximately four enemy-nin in pursuit. Too injured to do too much more though."

"What's your position Sakura?" Shikamaru said butting into the conversation.

"Twelve kilometers from the boarder north west."

"I'm dispatching a team," he said.

"Negative. They'll never make it. Besides you'll need the man power," she said her voice urgent as she caught the first glimpses of her enemies through the trees. "They're staging a raid of the eastern part of the boarder tomorrow. Approximately thirty, thirty-five, Jounin," she spoke faster and faster until the arrival of her first attackers caused her to fall silent.

"Sakura," Shikamaru said urgently, able to hear but not speak to her.

"God speed, Haruno," Ibiki said solemnly. She heard Shikamaru curse viciously.

"Come on baby," Sakura said softly as she saw the two Jounin come closer to her hiding place. "Just a little bit closer." They stepped closer and she suddenly flew out from behind her tree, swiftly burying two kunai in their necks and detonated the bombs. They both went up in relatively quiet fireballs and she grinned in grim satisfaction. Inhaling sharply in surprise she barely dodged incoming kunai herself, getting her left arm sliced open in the process. Blocking out the slow burn of pain she focused on trying to locate her enemy.

"You are good," she heard a voice echo throughout the trees. Gasping, Sakura scrambled backwards as she felt the surge of chakra around her. She barely sensed her attackers movements. Sakura felt cold metal slice through her stomach. A feeling of ice slowly seeped throughout her midriff and she winced as the cold's numbing sensation melted into searing pain. She jerked back, her arm instinctively going to her stomach. He was gone again in a blur of movement and she felt panic worm its way into her mind.

He was fast. Faster than her. Faster even than Sasuke, but he had nothing on Lee. She hadn't spent the last year training with him for nothing. She had honed her previously meager skills so that just in case she was ever in a situation like this she wouldn't be completely overwhelmed by her opponent. Thank Kami for Gai, Lee, and their weird training techniques. Forcing her mind to a calm state Sakura analyzed her situation. What did she know? She knew he was fast, he used blades, and that he would probably want to take her alive or kill her out right.

She felt the surge of chakra again then twisted as lithely as she could out of reach of his blades as he passed her again, this time only to find a long thin cut across the top of her thighs. For some reason that stung worst than the deep gouge taken out of her middle. Trying to peg his position she pressed more firmly on her midriff, trying to staunch the blood when her vision started to blur. At that second she felt something slam into the protective arm and heard more than felt the bone snap as she flew back to hit a tree. Her head slammed against the rough bark and she slid to the ground slowly.

Now she tried to get her limbs to move so that she could at least try to attack him as he came nearer. "Crap," she managed to whisper when he was finally standing over her. He looked disappointed.

"Too bad," he said. "You are a beauty. Under any other circumstances I would keep you as a prize."

"You mean whore," she said raggedly through clenched teeth. He chuckled when she shot him the bird.

"You are spirited. It is a shame that I have to exterminate you. It would have been quite pleasurable breaking you."

"If you are going to kill someone, do it. Don't stand around talking about it," a calm voice deadpanned from behind the man. His eyes widened and he tried to whirl around to face his new adversary but only stumbled and fell to his hands and knees in front of her as he sunk into the ground. Sand took on a life of its own to suck him downwards and lift her up. She saw her attacker struggle in vain as his panic mounted.

"Gaara," Sakura whispered as darkness swallowed her.

A/N: OMG I actually made my deadline -cough barley cough- but that's not the point. I'm so excited. I made it. -sets off poppers- Yay me. Still need a beta though so don't be too harsh on reviews. Thanks to all readers and I'll try to have the next chapter up on time next week.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I use some CB Radio talk in this one while using the radio. Most phrases are self-explanatory but I will put a glossary at the end.

Gaara froze in mid-step, waiting for Shukaku to explode in his mind. It didn't come and he relaxed fractionally when he realized that it wouldn't. He was always forgetting that Shukaku was gone. "Gaara?" Kankuro asked, momentarily forgetting the title that his brother never made him use.

"Kazakage-sama," one of Gaara's advisors said, emphasizing his title while glaring at Kankuro. Kankuro, ignoring the advisor, moved around Gaara to look at his face. He frowned at the lingering traces of panic in his brother's light green eyes.

"Dismissed," Kankuro said firmly. The small man bristled in outrage and the other advisors, three women, whispered amongst themselves. Gaara seemed to collect himself enough to nod his head.

"Kazakage-same!" Kankuro narrowed his eyes and gave the small man a look that could have melted stone.

"Dismissed." He said the one word so firmly that the wizened little man could do nothing but glare and gather his voluminous robes to flounce away with the ladies. When they had left them alone Kankuro turned again to his brother. "What's wrong," he asked softly, searching their surroundings for any sign of an enemy. Gaara shook his head and pressed the palm of one hand against his forehead, covering the kanji on the left side. He gasped slightly, trying to calm himself. Kankuro rested his hand lightly on his brother's shoulder.

"I'm fine," he said, his voice slightly hoarse. "I keep forgetting that he's gone." He said by way of explanation. Kankuro frowned.

"Who?" Gaara gave him a wry smile.

"Shukaku." Kankuro turned to his brother sharply. He hadn't mentioned the demon in years.

"What?" he asked carefully. Though he wasn't afraid of his little brother anymore he was wary of the sand that moved, even without Gaara's prompting, with the changes in his mood.

"Two years," Gaara said, his voice faint, his eyes taking on a far off look. "I never got used to being alone in my body." He gave a humorless laugh. "I keep expecting to have to fight with him with every shift of my emotions. Sometimes I feel like he's still with me."

"_**That's because I am,"**_ he heard Shukaku whisper in his head, his laugh harsh and grating.

Kankuro watched the panicked look come to his brother's eyes and again shake his head, seemingly at him self. He visibly focused on something and Kankuro frowned in confusion. "Blood," he said finally, his eyes opening. Sand shifted to form a floating platform that lifted Gaara away from the ground.

"Hey!" Kankuro said in surprise as the sand carried his brother away at a startling rate. "Gaara! Wait up!" Of course he didn't and Kankuro quickly pulled out a scroll to summon a Sidewinder puppet to ride on. Kankuro sighed as he quickly lost sight of his brother and pressed his puppet on ward, following Gaara's chakra trail.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Gaara moved swiftly through the trees, following the smell of blood. It was starting to make him excited in a way that he hadn't felt in two long years. Since Shukaku. Shaking that thought from his head he focused on finding the source of the blood. He found Sakura crumpled on the ground like a forgotten doll and he jerked in surprise when he realized how easily he had remembered the name of the girl he had tried to kill so long ago. Normally he wouldn't even remember the faces of the people he killed but one look at those pink locks had made the connection in his mind.

"_**The one that got away,"**_ Shukaku seemed to whisper in his mind. Gaara gasped and pressed his hands to his forehead. _This is nothing_, he told himself. _It's only insanity from living with Shukaku for so long. It's not real._ He kept repeating that phrase over and over again but he could almost hear Shukaku's dark laughter from the recesses of his demented mind. He shook his head roughly and looked up to see a man with dark hair move to stand over Sakura.

"You are a beauty. Under any other circumstances I would keep you as a prize," he said with a slight smile.

"You mean whore," Sakura muttered raggedly through clenched teeth. The man chuckled.

"You are spirited. It is a shame that I have to exterminate you. It would have been quite pleasurable breaking you." Gaara could barely feel Shukaku moving restlessly in the back of his consciousness.

"_**If anyone will break that girl it will be us not him,"**_ Shukaku's indignant voice slithered through Gaara's senses. _**"Her blood will be on our hands not his. Kill him. No man will touch what is ours." **_Without stopping to analyze the meaning of that last thought Gaara moved his sand to wrap around the man's ankles.

"If you are going to kill someone, do it. Don't stand around talking about it," he deadpanned from behind them. The man tried to turn to face him but fell to his hands and knees when his feet, incased in sand, refused to move with the rest of his body. Using a miniature version of Ryūsa Bakuryū to suck the man down into the earth he used Sabaku Sōsō quietly whispering Sand Burial before crushing the man. Blood gushed from the sand in a small fountain and Gaara turned to a now unconscious Sakura to find her lifted on a small platform of sand. He looked her over and found that her wounds had the potential to be fatal if he didn't get her to a medic soon.

Gaara sighed and focused on making and using twenty Daisan no Me. "Third Eye," he said then closed his left, placing his index and middle finger over it and frowned in concentration. The eyes all formed in different locations searching for some sign of help closer than the hospital in Sunagakure. Finding nothing but a group of four ninja's and his brother coming towards them he dispersed the eyes then raised four walls around himself and the pink haired medic-nin, careful to make sure he didn't block Kankuro out.

Finally spotting the pink head set Sakura was wearing Gaara picked it up and switched on the mouthpiece as Kankuro appeared through the trees and stopped next to him and Sakura. He held up one finger, signaling to Kankuro to give him a minute, as he found the right frequency. "Breaker, requesting go ahead," he said calmly into the receiver.

"Copy," a female voice came over the waves. "Step Down, Good Buddy. We got some Slave Drivers." Gaara switched to a lower channel as the woman had asked.

"Come back," he said.

"Walkin' Tall, Good Buddy. What's your Handle?" Gaara paused for a moment when the woman asked for his name then looked at his brother. Kankuro grinned. Sand Man he mouthed. Gaara smiled slightly and replied.

"Sand Man. Got a Pink Beaver here barely breathing."

"Well ain't you a Sunbeam! Play Dead, Sand Man, " the woman cried then spoke loudly to another party. "We got a Fog Lifter in the Basement, Captain, turn your Ears on." A man's voice promptly came over the airlines.

"Come on," he said.

"Sand Man's got a Pink Beaver and is awaiting instructions, over."

"What's your Twenty, Sand Man?" the man asked.

"About 21 kilometers east of Sunagakure in a sand box with four Cub Scouts coming my way. Request Band Aid Wrapper," Gaara said.

"Negative, Sand Man. We need you to make a delivery to nearest Chicken Coop," the man stated, sounding slightly frustrated. "Put down the Hammer, Sand Man."

"Affirmative," Gaara said. "What's their Twenty?"

"Three miles and closing. The Cub Scouts you mentioned," the man said. "Down."

"Keep on the defensive Sand Man," the woman said, coming back into the conversation. "Pink Beaver had some Boy Scouts at her Back Door."

"10-4, Out." Gaara turned off the mouthpiece.

Kankuro crossed his arms and leaned over Sakura frowning. "Haven't seen her in forever," he said and brushed her hair out of her face gently. Gaara said nothing and leaned back against a sand wall using his Third Eye to search for the Cub Scouts Captain had mentioned. He saw the four shinobi he had spotted earlier stop on the outside of the sand wall and the leader switched on his mouthpiece.

"Captain," he said. "We got a sand wall here." He sounded completely confused and Gaara knew the man was wondering when Suna had put up walls in this area. Gaara dropped the walls and smirked inwardly when he saw the four Leaf shinobi jump back in surprise, kunai and shuriken at the ready. When the realized that it was Suna's Kazekage and not enemy-nin they relaxed their guard and the medic-nin of the group rushed forward to see about Sakura.

Gaara watched the healing process with his usual unreadable expression but he also noticed that one of the Leaf ninja, obviously new to the group, watching him with a wary expression. He had every reason to fear Gaara since all the horror "stories" told about him were in actuality true but it still irked him that the boy feared him. He knew nothing but stories of the Kazekage and yet he sill acted as if Gaara would kill him slowly just to watch him bleed. He wasn't like that. Not anymore.

"_**Let's show him what real fear is,"**_ Shukaku said with his usual rough laugh and Gaara saw the sand that supported Sakura start to shift, to act out the demon's suggestion. Gaara's expression didn't change even when the medic-nin looked over at him curiously. He acted as if nothing had happened when inside he was close to screaming. No one seemed to notice his silent inner battle and he wasn't sure if he should be relieved or to yell at them all to look at him, to notice him. He wasn't sure what was the lesser of the two evils: Being insane and imagining that the demon that had inhabited his body for fifteen years was still with him or being sane and actually having the demon in his mind and body dictating his actions.

A/N: Okay so I made this week too. Yay me! bows to applause and blows kisses to adoring fans So I know that I pushed things a bit with the CB talk, stretching things so that they would fit in the story but bare with me. The following is a very long glossary of CB talk. You don't have to read it if you don't want to. Thanks for reading.

Breaker- A term, along with "Break," used when a CB operator wants others on a channel to break off routine chatter: "Breaker. Breaker…"

Copy- To receive a radio transmission with sufficient clarity to understand the message.

Step Down- To go down to another channel. Used when moving to another channel because of overcrowding.

Good Buddy- Like "Ole' Buddy," a term used among truckers and others as a salutation when the other operator's handle is unknown

Slave Drivers- Another of the many terms meaning a group of CBers who try to control a channel.

Come back, Come on, Over- Phrase used to tell another operator to talk

Walkin' Tall- Good sounding signal

Handle- An adopted nickname used for identification by CBers; for example, Gremlin, Geneses Bear, etc.

Beaver- Woman or girl.

Sunbeam- When things are rather gloomy on a channel, you're grateful for the sunbeam who comes along with a bright, lively conversation.

Play Dead- To stand by

Fog Lifter- Someone who brings something to a channel - an interesting CBer. Similar to a "Sunbeam."

Basement- Channel one.

Ears- Radio

Twenty- location

Cub Scouts- The local sheriff and his men. Generally they do not grow up to become Boy Scouts (state patrolmen). Cub Scouts also may be called "local yokels." (Used this to symbolize Boarder patrol.)

Band Aid Wrapper- An ambulance

Chicken Coop- A weigh-in station for trucks. (I used this one to symbolize where teams had made camp.)

Hammer- The accelerator pedal. (Mostly self-explanatory but I did use this one as just a way to say hurry up.)

Down- Off the air, as in "We're down." Usually used to announce the end of transmission in the senses of "We're gone" or "We'll be on the side."

Boy Scouts- A somewhat less common name for state patrolmen, who are generally known as "Smokies" or "Bears." (Unlike Cub Scouts, which I used for boarder patrol, I used Boy Scouts for actual Jounin and not just the usual Chuunin and Jounin.)

Back Door- Behind a vehicle.

10-4- Affirmative

Black Rose TD


	4. Chapter 4

Hinata hurried into the infirmary, her face flushed with exertion. She skidded to a stop, her eyes widening when she saw Naruto sitting on one of the cots. Sasuke stood off to the side studying one of the medical charts on the wall. He turned to her blinked once with indifference then turned back to the chart. "Hinata-chan!" Naruto said loudly, a big smile on his face. Hinata felt her face heat and knew that she resembled a ripe tomato. Her mouth felt like sand and she knew that she probably would revert back to stuttering like an idiot if she ever got her tongue to work properly and form real words.

She felt her hands move to tweedle with her fingers as she used to do when she was younger but she clasped them together tightly, determined to appear a mature young woman in front of her long time crush instead of the timid little girl he made her feel like. Taking a deep breath she fortified her resolve and smiled at him. "Hello Naruto. What brings you all here to the infirmary? You appear fine with the exception of some dirt and bruises." Naruto rubbed the back of his head in that charming way that he always did when he had something embarrassing to say.

"It's not us who need medical assistance," Sasuke stated as he turned away from the charts. It's Kiba." Blinking in surprise Hinata searched for her former teammate. He popped out from behind a cot, a grim smile on his face. He gave a halfhearted wave and she surveyed his form warily, praying that she wouldn't encounter blood of any kind. He appeared fine except that he cradled his left arm with his right. She frowned in concern and walked towards him.

"What happened?"

"I was sparing with Neji," he said as she made him sit and, careful not to jar it, moved his arm to her lap. "We wanted to see if the Double Wolf Fang could break through Neji's Heavenly Spin." Hinata's head snapped up at that and she paled visibly. "It was nothing serious," he said quickly. "It didn't exactly break through but we were both blown back. Akamaru just sprained my arm when he fell on it that's all." She shook her head at Kiba.

"This is broken," she said softly. "It'll take a moment. Sakura is much more skilled at this than I am," she said with a small grimace. Without waiting for comment from Sasuke who still had the tendency to be cruel with his words she focused her chakra and concentrated on healing her friend. The soft blue glow filled the room as she slowly stitched the bone back together, careful to fix any nicks or chips in the bone so that it wouldn't be more susceptible to breaking in the future.

Giving a small sigh Hinata finished healing him then took a deep breath, feeling more than a little worn. "That should fix everything Kiba," she said and smiled at him. "Try not to let Akamaru sit on you anymore." He grinned at her and hopped down from the cot.

"I'll have to remind him that I'm not a seat cushion," he said lightly. "Thanks Hinata. Feels good as new." He opened his mouth to say something else when TenTen burst into tent.

"Hinata! Come quick, Ino needs your help," she said quickly before turning around and leaving the tent. Feeling mild panic she rushed to the tent flap, the boys almost colliding as they tried to be the first to follow her out. Rushing towards a shock of long blonde hair, Hinata skidded to a stop when she saw what Ino needed help with. Sakura lay on a stretcher covered in blood that appeared to be her own if her ripped clothes were any evidence. The world seemed to spin madly and Hinata swallowed hard as bile burned up her throat.

"Hyuga," Ibiki called to her, seeing her immobilized state. "Get moving." Her frozen brain refused to register the order and Ibiki yelled at her again. "Hyuga!" Finally stepping forward Hinata knelt beside her pink haired friend, ignoring the blood for the time being. Her blue glow joined Ino's as they both worked on healing their friend. After a few breathless moments Ino sat back, exhausted now that she knew her friend was going to be okay.

"Her condition has stabilized," the blonde said on a sigh. "We'll monitor her during the night but she should be fine." Hinata heard the words dimly her body shutting down. She must have made some small wounded sound because everyone turned to look at the deathly pale woman just as she fell to the ground in a faint.

-------

Sakura pulled herself out of the darkness of unconsciousness little by little. A dull throbbing ach radiated throughout her body and she stifled a groan of pain. She opened her eyes to find the tent dark, a light green pair of eyes watching her through the darkness. Her breath caught in her throat as her anxiety spiked. She reflexively grabbed and threw a kunai at the intruder only to hear a strange sifting sound and a dull thud. She struggled to get up only to have pain rip through her. "Calm down," a dark voice said. Hearing the sifting sound again Sakura stiffened when she felt something grainy wind around her body, and reposition her in her previous prone state.

Struggling again, Sakura hissed when the grainy stuff tightened around her. "Stop fighting you're safe enough," the voice said and her fogged mind finally connected the voice to a face. Her body stilled and the sand slowly slid away. What on earth is he doing here, she thought to herself. How did I get here? Where is here? Taking a deep breath Sakura took stock of her surroundings. She inhaled deeply, the smell of disinfectant combined with something purely medicinal told her she was in some sort of infirmary but the cool air told her that she wasn't in Suna.

"Gaara?" she asked, her voice little more than a croak. "Where are we?"

"Your infirmary. I brought you back to your base. Morino and Nara seemed glad to have you back."

"I have to check in," she said faintly, her body starting to feel heavy after her exertions.

"You might want to wait until a decent hour then. Some how I don't think that your commander will appreciate being woken up at two in the morning without it being an emergency." She chuckled lightly, feeling herself drifting back to sleep when her brow puckered in a frown as a thought struck her.

"Why are you awake? Guarding me?" He snorted a laugh.

"You mean stalking you?" Even though she shouldn't have found that funny given his track record she couldn't help but giggle at his dry sense of humor.

"I meant why aren't you asleep? Your bed not comfortable? My blinding beauty too great a lure to resist?" He said nothing for a moment as if he were shocked then stunned her by laughing. He chuckled deep in his throat, an oddly stimulating sound that she wanted to hear more of.

"That's it exactly," he said, his voice fractionally warmer. "Your beauty shines like a beacon in the night. Your allusive fire, your elation I admire, your skin that I desire, your eyes, your pure inter beauty." Sakura lay staring at him in shock for a moment before shaking her head and collecting her wits. "Didn't expect me to say something so profound?" he asked, a smirk evident in his voice.

"No, no," she stammered, blushing. "I just meant… why are you up anyway," she asked in frustrated embarrassment.

"Old habits," he said simply and she nodded her understanding.

"So you just decided to watch me for the night?"

"I didn't know that I would spending the night away from home. If I had I'd have brought a book"

"That's what you do every night? Read?"

"Sometimes I do paper work."

"Tsunade-sama hates paper work," Sakura said drowsily. Now that she exuded so much precious energy she felt as if she could sleep for a week. "Good night Gaara," she said through a delicate yawn. "There's a book on my desk in the back if you want. You know…this is probably the longest conversation we've ever had." Gaara could hear her breathing regulate and deepen and he couldn't help but chuckle again. Haruno Sakura had changed in the three years that he had seen her last.

With a small shrug Gaara got up to retrieve the book, pausing momentarily in the "door way" to her quarters. It was sparsely decorated with a cot, a trunk at the foot of said cot, a desk, and a small lamp. He walked over to the desk and grabbed the first book that he saw and read the cover. Frowning slightly at the title that seemed to scream "Chick book" at the top of its imaginary lungs Gaara took the book back to his seat and settled down for the remainder of the night.

Gaara shifted slightly as sunlight filtered into the plastic windows of the large tent with the dawn. The blue eyed blonde from yesterday came into the infirmary, glancing warily at him as she checked first Sakura's then Hinata's vials, making sure to give him a very wide berth while tending to the former. The Hyuga's pearl eyes fluttered open and she let forth a week moan and sat up. "Ino?" she asked, her normally faint voice virtually nonexistent.

"Yeah, when you feel better there's two guys in recovery asking about you," Ino said with a knowing smirk and sauntered out of the tent, leaving the Hyuga blushing madly, and not sparing him or Sakura another glance. Gaara lifted an invisible eyebrow then went back to his book. Despite its sentimental title the story was actually interesting, filled with battle scenes and mystery but with the high drama of a "chick book". There was even a romance angle between the main character (a girl of seventeen) and her former sensei (eleven years her senior) that made Gaara roll his eyes.

The Hyuga girl kept throwing him nervous looks but went about her business when she was sure the he was completely ignoring her. Sakura woke again a little after noon looking much more energetic. She sat up and stretched but froze when she found him still sitting in the chair next to her cot. "Shouldn't you be gone?" the puzzled kunoichi asked, a small frown marring her wide forehead. He raised a nonexistent eyebrow at her, not even bothering to look up from his book.

"You want me gone that badly," he asked nonchalantly. Sakura blinked in surprise, a blush warming her cheeks.

"No. I just meant that I thought you would have gone back home by now," she said slightly flustered. She quickly regained her composure and gave him a lop sided teasing grin, "I would have missed you." Gaara stilled. Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro were the only one's who dared tease him though he had proven time and time again that he was much more stable without Shukaku's influence and less likely to kill with any subtle shift in his mood. He wanted to smile but was sure that it would turn out as more of a grimace. Instead he settled for the first words that had popped into his head after her comment.

"If I go away what would still remain of me?" Sakura blinked at his softly spoken question. "The ghost within your eyes? The whisper of your sighs? You see…believe and I'm always there." Sakura sat stunned, her frozen mind unable to come up with anything intelligent to say back to him.

--------

Takomi ran from the infirmary to the training area as fast as she could. She burst through the foliage into the clearing to find numerous kunai and shuriken pointed at various vital points. She stopped short and gulped down the knot of panic that had formed in her throat. There was a collective loosening of tension among the gathered shinobi as they realized that the young medic-nin trainee wasn't a threat. "Takomi," Sasuke said sharply.

"We could've killed you!" Naruto yelled fuming. Takomi visibly collected herself, trying to will strength back into her terror-weakened knees.

"What do you need, Takomi," Neji asked calmly, seemingly the only one who had realized the implications of her rushed entrance into the clearing. "Is something wrong?"

"Kazekage-sama," she finally managed to pant out.

"What about him?" Kankuro asked sharply as he and Crow descended from the trees.

"He was flirting with Sakura-sempai."

-------

A/N: So sorry for the extreme lateness of this chapter. sweat drop For some reason I could only write one line at a time, it was like pulling teeth and I'm still not at all happy with this but I had to put up something before my friend acted on the many threats she made to my well being. -.- I feel that Gaara is completely OOC too and it's very depressing.

I don't claim the poems in this chapter as my own in any way form or fashion. I don't write poetry. They were written or said by Crazy Eight and Jon Olivia. I'll try hard to have the 5th chapter on time if not early to make up for the tardiness of this one. For some reason I started to write this chapter and decided that it would fit better for chapter five instead so that's more than half finished. Thanks for reading.

Black Rose


	5. Chapter 5

Akamaru's nose twitched as his legs pumped restlessly as if he were running. He jerked out of a sound sleep and sniffed the air repeatedly. 'I smell cookies,' thought and bounded up from where he had been napping in the shade of Kiba's tent. His nose to the ground, Akamaru sniffed following the sent of cookies from the "office", in actuality just a small wooden structure put up for meetings and interrogations, to a tree near by. He sniffed around the tree to find Shino sitting on the ground against the tree eating cookies. Akamaru whimpered loudly, making sure to use the big soulful eyes that always won Hinata over.

Shino seemed to glance at him, "Hey Akamaru." His soft voice seemed warmer than usual, giving Akamaru hope. He crawled on his belly, inching forward little by little to nudge Shino's leg with his nose gently. He whimpered even louder when his whining invoked no sympathy. Shino's dark eyebrows rose over his glasses as he turned to give the large dog a calculating glance. "Stop begging," he finally said and tossed a whole sugar cookie to him. Jumping up with a yip of elation he caught the confection in his jaws and chomped down in doggy bliss.

Akamaru's head snapped up suddenly and he woofed softly to alert Shino. "I know," the dark haired boy said softly to him. Akamaru felt him shift and saw the kunai that had appeared in his hand. A girl walked through the foliage and stopped short when she found Shino sitting at the base of the tree.

"Oh. Hello," she said softly with a small smile. "Didn't mean to interrupt." Akamaru's tense stance evaporated and he trotted up to her, his tail wagging in greeting. "Well hello. Aren't you a handsome one?" She scratched behind his ears lightly and he crooned with joy. Shino was a little more cautious in his judgment.

"Who are you?" he questioned, kunai still in hand.

"Oh. Yes, you might want to know that huh?" she asked with a self-depreciating laugh. "Gakusai Makoto," she said with a smile. "My sister and I are the two medic's Haruno-san requested. I was just looking around a bit before checking into the infirmary."

"Makoto!" The girl winced then gave a nervous smile when she heard her name.

"Well, duty calls. Nice meeting you." With that she was gone in a swirl of wind and a faint chiming sound as if the wind was playing with a wind chime somewhere nearby.

----------

Makoto materialized in front of her sister with a smile. "Hey what's up?" Her sister stood in a group of people made up of mostly women. The only man was a mass of scars that she tried hard not to stare at. She gave them a shallow bow. A pink haired woman smiled and nodded her head.

"You and your sister will be working with me along with Ino and Hinata." She indicated the two women who nodded in turn. "If you'll come with us we'll show you two around the infirmary.

---------

The medic's words were met with stunned silence, all eyes had turned to stare at her and she blushed. Naruto's boisterous laugh rang throughout the clearing, lessening the tension of the moment.

"Gaara doesn't flirt," he said loudly, holding his sides as he doubled over with mirth.

"Did you hear what he said?" Kankuro asked, ignoring the Kyubi users comment. Takomi nodded vigorously.

"Poetry. It…it was actually…very romantic," she said hesitantly. She winced as Naruto's laugh rang out again, sure that he could be heard back at camp.

"R-romantic?" He gasped then fell over as he started to laugh harder, rolling across the grass. Sasuke rolled his eyes and muttered "Baka" beneath his breath before refocusing on the medic.

"Poetry?" Kankuro asked puzzled. Takomi nodded. Deep in thought Kankuro walked out of the clearing leaving the others to watch his departure. Gaara did have his profound moments but poetry? Kankuro just couldn't picture him saying anything romantic. Of course he had changed substantially since Shukaku had been ripped from him but living with the demon for so many years had taken its toll on his personality. Well there was the matter of his "art" but that didn't really count.

Glancing up he saw Sakura, Ino, and Hinata leading two girls into the infirmary and sped up to follow, knowing that that was where Gaara had last been seen. He reached the tent flap just as Sakura was showing them around. "This is where the bandages are stored, the medicine, herbs, cleansers, fresh linens," she said naming of areas one by one as she pointed them out. She finally turned to find Gaara in the same spot he had been last night, book open in his lap. "And this," she gestured to him before crossing her arms and cocking her hip, her lips pursed in an effort to keep back a smile. "Is our resident lump. He's never around long but today he's seemed to have taken Kakashi as a roll model, Kami help us." Gaara's eyes snapped up at that last remark, his features impassive. Kankuro saw Ino and Hinata squirm and knew that they didn't particularly trust his brother and though he understood their way of thinking since he himself had thought that way about Gaara at one point or another, it pissed him off.

Hinata's eyes darted around, looking for an escape and he saw relief flood the pearl orbs when she saw him. "Kankuro," she said as she rushed towards him, as far away from Gaara as she could without leaving the tent. "What can we do for you? Are you hurt?" He forced a smile for the pretty Hyuga girl and shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. Just coming to see when Gaara wanted to head back." He looked over at his brother, eyebrows raised in question.

"Now is as good a time as any," he said as he stood and closed the book he had been reading. He attempted to hand it to Sakura but she shook her head.

"Keep it till you're done with it," she said simply then walked off to show the two new girls where the rest of the supplies were.

--------

Gaara sat even more quietly than usual throughout the rid home, Sakura's book in his lap. Kankuro watched his brother surreptitiously and noted that though Gaara didn't go so far as to trail his fingers across the cover his fingers did flex every so often as if he were fighting the erg to do so. Kankuro frowned slightly when Gaara's pale eyes drifted away to stare off into the distance. "Gaara," Kankuro said hesitantly. His brother shifted slightly towards him to show that he had at least part of the Kage's attention. "If we circle around Suna one more time people are going to think that we're a giant vulture." His comment seemed to get Gaara's attention and he looked over the edge of his sand platform to find that they were indeed circling around Suna.

Gaara descended so suddenly that Kankuro was reduced to grasping at the sand to keep from flying upward, his stomach jumping up into his throat before settling again as they touched ground. Kankuro glared at his brother but saw that the effect was wasted on him since he just started walking, book still tucked safely in hand. People called greetings to him that he barely acknowledged as he walked along and Kankuro couldn't help the twinge of worry that floated through him. Gaara was slowly becoming more and more like he used to be and it worried him.

------

Gaara stared blankly out his office window, the moonlight dancing as the sand storm outside ragged in full furry. A few stars could be glimpsed occasionally through the blowing sand but he barley noticed them. He had an almost indecent amount of paperwork to catch up on from his night away from home but his mind and eyes kept wandering back to the book on the edge of his desk and the girl who had given it to him. He was surprised at how easily his imagination manifested her in his office, the shifting moonlight cascading over her. The words popped into his head and out of his mouth before he could even think to stop them, "She walks in beauty like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies. And all that's best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes."

_**"What kind of crap was that?" **_Gaara jerked in surprise. His voice seemed louder as if he were closer. _**"You've been spouting all kids of pathetic stuff since we saw that girl again." **_Gaara stood up suddenly and started to pace the large room. "Shukaku is gone. He's gone. The voice is just a figment of your warped imagination," Gaara muttered the words fervently to himself as if repeating the phrase would make it so. Pausing in his walking he ran a hand over his face warily and turned back towards his desk. He had work to finish. He looked at the stacks of papers on his desk then grabbed Sakura's book and left the office.

------

A/N: Heh heh. Almost forgot to update. I realized that Takomi and Mikomi's names were very close together while writing this. It's my fault because I was thinking of where I should bring Mikomi in when I had to make up Takomi's name off the top of my head. It never occurred to me how similar they were until I had posted chapter four. I'm too lazy to change it so I'll just make up a nickname for one of them. I did not write Gaara's quot/poem it was by Byron from some poem/sonnet that I can't remember the name of.

Anyway. I was surprised that I finished this one so early when posting for me usually comes down to the last few seconds but since I did I just decided to start on six and post this on Sunday like I usually do. With so many other things to write for I've decided to just post every two weeks with occasional early posts here and there. Sorry to all of you who are on the edge of your seats –cough- (-.-). I expect to get some more Gaara Sakura interaction in the next chapter but no promises. I did come up with an idea for a chapter thanks to a livejournal KakaSaku writing prompt that I was going to do but I looked at what I had written for it and thought…I'm so adding this to a story. It was just too good not to. Thanks KakaSaku community.

Thanks to FakeCompassion, my only reviewer to date (and only friend -cries-) for your support -traps you in hug of death- and sorry for pushing back my updates.

Black Rose


	6. Chapter 6

"Mikomi

"Mikomi?"

"Huh?" Takomi and Mikomi said at once then glanced at each other in surprise.

"Well that could get to be annoying," Ino said with eyebrows raised. Mikomi shot her a bland look then turned back to her sister.

"One of you needs a nickname," Makoto murmured, rubbing her chin in thought. Mikomi frowned. "I could call you Miki!" Makoto's voice was laced with excitement and here eyes gleamed.

"No." Makoto deflated at her sister's blunt denial.

"But your names are so similar. You'd both be answering to each other's names all the time."

"Then give her the nickname."

"What would we call her? Tako?" Takomi's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest but was cut off when Makoto continued. "I don't think so. Besides, Miki is so much cuter than Tako." Mikomi glared at her sister.

"Call her by her last name like everyone else does," she said with a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"I don't know her last name." Makoto's simple statement was met with silence. Mikomi turned to her sister and glared at her.

"Then ask her," the words came through set teeth and Sakura knew that she was the end of her patience. Sakura sighed. Makoto had been asking ridiculous questions of her sister all morning and everyone was starting to get a little annoyed. She even thought she saw Hinata send a glare the girl's way.

"Cleaning and organizing the infirmary's supplies is tedious enough without some air head chatter box around," Ino muttered under her breath as she brought in more clean sheets to fold and put away. Hinata's mop slapped against the floor with more force than needed to voice her agreement.

"_She's just mad that she's not the center of attention," _Inner Sakura said with a snort and Sakura suppressed a smile. Naruto, Shino, and Lee walked into the tent suddenly, all three loaded down with large boxes.

"Sakura why does this medical stuff have to be so heavy?" Naruto whined loudly, his voice ranging out over the sister's argument and everyone turned to look at the lined up group of boys.

"Sakura-chan, you grow more beautiful everyday," Lee said enthusiastically and Sakura laughed nervously and whipped at the sweat drops that had formed on her wide forehead. If nothing else Lee was good for boosting her ego. That and heavy lifting. Shino, as stoic as ever, lifted an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Where should we put these Sakura?" Naruto's words were little more than a grunt and realized that his box must contain the IV stands spare bed frames that she had requested.

"Stack them on the floor next to the door way but not in the walkway please. And be careful. Some of those things are breakable." The boys nodded and dropped their boxes in their respective spots. "Thanks guys."

"Yeah, more work. Thanks a lot." Sakura gave Ino a bland look for the comment but said nothing.

"Guys while you're here, these are Mikomi and Makoto, our new medics," Sakura said. The boys called out greetings, with the exception of Shino who just nodded. Makoto seemed to be smiling widely at him. Sakura and Ino shared a look. What was that about?

--

"I've got it!" Ino burst into Sakura's "room", her only warning was the thumping of the blonde's sandals on the wood flooring.

"Got what?" she asked in exasperation as she struggled with the hooks of her bra.

"Shino and Makoto. They were lovers." Ino's statement was met with a "are you retarded" look.

"They weren't lovers Ino."

"Then how else would they know each other?" Ino flopped back onto Sakura's cot with sigh.

"Ino, let it go. It's been three weeks now. Just let it go."

"I can't," Ino said fervently as she sat up. "Shino is such a mystery as it is! There's literally no dirt on him at all. None! No one can be that ideal and still be human!" The blonde pulled at her hair in frustration. "There has to be something on him somewhere." Finally getting the hooks into their respective eyes Sakura walked over and grabbed her friend's shoulders, shaking her violently.

"Ino! Get a hold of yourself! There is nothing on Shino," she said slowly. "Say it." Ino shook her head. "Say it, or I'll crush your head like a grape," Sakura's voice was hard and held no hope for compromise.

"There is no dirt on Shino." The words were ripped from the woman's lips and she looked as if she had just gotten a tooth pulled with nothing to numb the pain.

"Good. Now go to your tent and go to sleep." Ino slunk from the room with a mournful glance at her so-called friend then let the flap drop. Sighing Sakura pulled on a short spaghetti strap nightgown and put her hair up with senbon. Finally ready for bed the pink haired kunoichi sat at her desk and finished a report for one of the patients that she had released that afternoon. She heard light thumps on the floor of the infirmary and sighed. "Go to bed Ino," she called without bothering to look up from the scroll on her desk.

Hearing the flap to her room open Sakura slapped her hands down on the surface of her desk and whiled around to face her friend. "Ino! There is nothing on Shino! Now go to- Gaara." The Kage stood in her sleeping quarters casually, his expression blank. "What are you doing here? Are you hurt?" Gaara shook his head. A small portion of sand filtered out of the large gourd on his back and floated forwards her, her book on top.

"Oh. What'd you think?" His nose wrinkled in distaste.

"It was a chick book." A perfectly arched pink eyebrow went up at his statement.

"Excuse me?" Gaara gave her a bland look.

"It was a chick book," he said more slowly this time as if talking to a half-wit. Sakura fluttered her eyelashes in annoyance.

"Why do you say that?" Gaara lifted one shoulder in a half shrug.

"Romantic subplot, high unnecessary drama, essential elements of a chick book." Sakura rested her hands on her hips and cocked them to the side.

"And how would you know what a 'chick book' entails?"

"As I said. I read a lot at night. I've read some of Temari's books though hers consisted of considerably more gore than that one." He nodded to the book still supported by sand. As if remembering that he was still holding it the sand bobbed suddenly, a silent reminder to take the book. Taking note of the movement but making no move to retrieve the piece of literature Sakura smiled slightly.

"That's why you didn't like it? Not enough gore?" Her smile slipped from her face at her own question as if she were remembering just what he and Shukaku were famous for. Gaara shook his head.

"I didn't say that I didn't like it."

"You never said that you did."

"Why would I?" Sakura blinked at that.

"What do you mean?" Gaara shifted his weight, his arms coming up to cross over his chest.

"You never asked me if I liked the book so why would I tell you whether I enjoyed the book or not?" Sakura gave him a confused frown and cocked her head to one side slightly. Some one was sure being argumentative.

"Did you enjoy the book," she asked slowly.

"Not particularly." Sakura turned her head to the side, as if looking at an invisible audience. She turned back to him, opened her mouth to speak but seemed to think better of it and closed it.

"Why didn't you enjoy the book?" The question was asked calmly enough but Gaara could tell that he had riled her. It was enough to make him want to smile.

"I think that the plot would have been better with out the romance."

"Don't like the love angle?"

_"Typical guy,"_ Inner Sakura said. _"All he wants is explosions and blood shed. None of them can appreciate a good love story."_ Outer Sakura chuckled at her inner's antics. It had been a while since she had heard from Inner. She had begun to think that she had out grown her "imaginary" self. Gaara shook his head.

"Love is like a rumor." Gaara blinked, his eyes widening slightly in surprise as if he had said something that he hadn't meant to. Sakura frowned.

"What do you mean?" Gaara grimaced and looked away, reluctant to say more. "Go on." He sighed.

"Love is like a rumor," he repeated. "Everyone talks about it but no one truly knows."

"Everyone knows what love is," Sakura said, waving one hand in the air dismissively. Gaara smirked.

"What is love?" Sakura's mouth snapped closed with a click of teeth and she glared at him.

"Love," she said hesitantly. "Is a feeling." When she didn't elaborate his smirk widened into a small grin.

"What does love feel like?" The pink haired kunoichi glared at the floor for a moment before she smiled softly and looked up at him.

"Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it's cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first but keeps you warm for a long time." Gaara blinked at her, not amused. "No?" she asked with a small laugh. "How about this one then. Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." Gaara's sand dropped the book and it landed on the ground with a dull thud. He turned and opened the flap over the doorway to her quarters but paused before leaving completely.

"I am not sure if like either of your explanations and you never really answered my question, neither answer was a feeling though both scenarios insinuated one or another." His head cocked to the side, "And both seemed very uncomfortable." With that he stepped out and let the flap drop.

--

A/N: OMG a chapter done two weeks early! -oh shock and disbelief- I'm so proud of myself. -throws confetti- If I can kick out another chapter of this I'll be set and can fully focus on Seika in ESW (link's on my profile). -sings- Now if only I can remember to update on time…(-.-) I'll try my best.

Black Rose


	7. Chapter 7

Gaara sat at his desk, signing the last document before sitting back and looking at the finished stack of papers. Leaning back in his seat, Gaara prepared to relax for a few moments when a knock sounded on his door. Sighing he pulled a document down from the pile to appear as if he were busy. "What?" he asked flatly and two chuunin entered, one barring yet another stack of papers and the other with a package, a scroll resting on top. Once both loads had been delivered on his desk and the finished stack picked up both chuunin bowed their heads slightly and left the room, closing the door softly behind them. Gaara sighed and picked up the package, opening it hesitantly.

Blinking in surprise he lifted the orange book out of the paper. His eyes widened in horror when he realized what it was that he was holding and dropped it as if it had burned him. Grabbing the scroll that had come along with the package he opened it quickly and read the flowing pink script contained within.

_I thought you might need something else to occupy your nights since you've been reduced to reading Temari's books so I barrowed one from Kakashi-sensei for you. Enjoy._

_Haruno Sakura_

Staring blankly at the chibi drawing of the pink haired kunoichi at the bottom of her note, it's tongue sticking out at him through a goofy smile, Gaara felt his right eye twitch slightly. She was teasing him. Again. He still didn't know if he liked it or not. Gaara picked up the packaging paper to ball it up when he felt another object embedded inside. Frowning he dug through added layers of paper to find another book. This one a normal brown color. A pink piece of paper was taped to the front and he ripped it off, expecting a message like the last.

_Just kidding! Kakashi-sensei would never let me borrow one of his precious books and would probably kill me if he ever found out that I took one. This should be more to your liking, no love angle. Hope you like mysteries._

_Sakura_

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Sakura looked up from her patient as Mikomi, Makoto, Hinata, and Ino entered the infirmary. Ino opened her mouth to speak but Sakura cut her off, jerking the binding around the shinobi's wrist more tightly than necessary in her agitation. "One word Ino and I swear I'll take a scalpel to your throat," she growled, glaring at the blonde. Ino's mouth snapped shut and Sakura saw a smile pull at Mikomi's lips. Finishing the dressing Sakura patted the man's thigh and stood up from her stool. "Ok. Avoid using this hand for much of anything for about two days, after that try lifting lightweight things and come see me in a week. We'll check on your progress then." He nodded.

"Thanks Haruno-sama," he said and hopped down from the cot.

"No problem." Ino snapped a sheet smartly obviously pouting over the fact that Sakura refused to listen to her Shino/Makoto theories as she changed the bedding on a recently occupied cot. Sakura rolled her eyes and straightened up around the station she had used as Mikomi and her sister checked the charts. They all turned expectantly to the doorway when the area was flooded with sunlight as the flap opened.

"Sakura," Choji said as he stepped inside. "Message for you." He handed Sakura the scroll then turned to leave. Mikomi nodded a greeting, Ino rolled her eyes at him, and Makoto gave him a wide friendly smile that caused the young man to blush slightly before nodding and proceeding out side. When he flap had closed Makoto turned to her sister her eyes bright with excitement.

"Who was he?" Mikomi's eyebrows went up slightly.

"Why are you asking me? I got here the same time you did remember?" Makoto's smile dropped into a sad frown for a moment before she bounded over to Ino. Sakura tuned out the conversation as she walked back to her quarters and opened the scroll to find Suna's seal embellished across the top.

-------

Sakura jumped lithely from branch to branch putting more and more force into her jumps as trees became farther and farther apart with the thinning forest. After taking a day to request a three-day leave from Ibiki and making sure that all of her duties were covered Sakura had packed clothes and medical supplies in a bag and headed for Suna. She whipped at the sweat forming on her brow, already feeling traces of desert heat in the air. She grimaced when she realized that the heat would only get worst. Sighing she pushed forward glad that it wasn't a dry heat.

Thinking back to the letter she had received from Temari two days prior. Obviously Kankuro had caught some kind of illness and had spread it throughout the Kazekage's household and since there were just so many people employed by him with just regular housework the ailment had swiftly spread throughout the village. According to Temari things were so bad that even some of their medics were on sick leave. Shaking herself out of her thoughts she bounded across the spars grass, careful not to trip over rocks imbedded in the dry cracked dirt.

-------

Walking through Suna's empty streets Sakura started to wonder just what type of illness Kankuro had spread to incapacitate an entire village within days. Making her way to the Kazekage's office as quickly as possible she went through the empty reception area to his office. As she raised her fist to knock the door swung open and she found herself faced with a stack of papers supported by sand. She stepped to the side when the sand showed no sign of stopping and peered into the room cautiously when it had passed and almost laughed out loud at the sight that greeted her eyes.

Gaara sat at his desk his face a mask of concentration as he juggled various palm sized stuffed animals. Teddy bears dressed in numerous outfits ranging from ANBU to ramen vendors, and the ever-popular tanuki dressed in Kazekage robes gourd included. Sakura tried to suppress her snort of laughter but knew she had failed when Gaara's head snapped to her, stuffed animals raining down on his head to fall to the floor. His face quickly shifted from surprise to his usual stoic expression though she could have sworn that the hint of a blush was visible on his pale cheeks. The thought made her laugh harder and she was soon doubled over, her hand pressed to her side as a stitch formed between her ribs. Gaara's glare only made her laugh harder, tears running down her cheeks as she gasped for elusive breath. "Dear sweet Kami," she said breathily when she had pulled herself together though the occasional giggle slipped from between her compressed lips.

Gaara had straightened his desk and put away the stuffed animals but she snorted when she caught sight of a tanuki tail hanging out of a drawer. "Do you have a reason for being here?" he asked stiltedly. She nodded.

"Temari asked me to come and help in the hospital." Gaara glared.

"Then why are you _here_?"

"_To witness your stuffed animal fetish,"_ Inner Sakura said and Outer Sakura bit her lip to keep from laughing again.

"Well I figured that it would be prudent to check on the Kazekage's health before becoming embroiled in the needs of the rest of the village," she said with minimal tremors in her voice. Sakura cleared her throat. "So. What's with the stuffed animals?" She fought a smile when she saw him glare at her. "Some deep dark secret of yours that no one else knows about? Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."

"They were given to me." His words came from between clenched teeth. Sakura's amused smile shifted to one of disbelief, one pink eyebrow arching in question.

"All of them?" Gaara's mouth twisted into something between a grimace and a smile.

"I have become…" he hesitated here, searching for the correct words, "popular among the younger females and they tend to send me…tokens of their…affections." Sakura started to giggle again and Gaara's scowl resurrected itself.

"You've got fan girls," she said before bursting into gales of laughter again. Sakura heard the slither of sand behind her and tried to pull herself together. "Okay. Okay, I'm sorry. I'm done now." She cleared her throat, trying for a professional tone. "Let's get you checked out." Gaara grimaced but said nothing as Sakura subjected him to a mini physical. "Healthy as can be Gaara," she said finally as she packed her things back into her medic bag. "Now if you'll just point me in the direction of the hospital I'll get out of your hair."

--------

After two days of treating patents Suna seemed to be getting back in the swing of normal life. Shops had reopened and there were people in the streets. Sakura walked along side Temari through the enclosed market place looking around at the different wares. "Let's stop here," Temari said suddenly. "They always have the most beautiful silks." Shrugging but secretly enjoying the experience Sakura followed the blonde into the stand. "Sakura look at this!" Temari's voice rang out from behind a rack of dresses that Sakura had been browsing through. "You just have to get this." Sakura found the blonde in front of a bolt of black silken fabric, sakura petals falling gracefully across the cloth. Sakura's breath caught in her throat.

"It's beautiful."

"It'll look great on you. Buy it." Sakura smiled sadly at the other woman's goading and shook her head slowly.

"This wasn't a pleasure trip. I didn't bring any money with me." Temari seemed to deflate some since the woman had lamented her lack of money at the sight of a candy store a ways back. The store vender looked up with a smile when the flap to her stand opened and someone stepped in. Her wrinkled eyes widened in awe for a moment before she shuffled as fast as her arthritic knees would allow to the person standing in the door way.

"Kazekage-sama," she said respectfully bowing low. "You honor us with your presence." Temari smiled widely.

"Hey Gaara, got any cash on ya?" Sakura's eyes widened at her words.

"Temari, no," she whispered, her face flaming with unreasonable embarrassment, but before she could say more Gaara tossed his wallet to his sister and she had proceeded to pay the little man behind the small counter for the cloth, ignoring the pink haired kunoichi completely.

"So what were you doing at the seamstress's shop any way Gaara," Temari asked her youngest brother as they started down the street after thanking the old couple for their business. Gaara pocketed his wallet, his usual expression in place.

"Avoiding Yukiko," he said with a grimace. Sakura blinked in curiosity when Temari's light chuckle earned her a glare from the younger man. The blonde turned to her female companion and leaned towards her when she realized that the pink haired woman had been left out of the loop.

She raised her hand to shield her mouth as if telling a secret but spoke to Sakura in a loud stage whisper that Gaara surely heard, "President of his fan club." Sakura snorted lightly as she tried to suppress her giggles, visions of the plushie collection stashed in his office playing through her mind. Gaara's glare became more pronounced and he completely ignored both women for the rest of the walk back to the Kazekage's mansion. They entered from the back and walked down a corridor towards the main living quarters. Sakura stopped at the entrance of a wing, it's dark heavy Brazilian Cherry wood doors open wide, displaying a large stain glass window almost the size of the wall itself.

Sakura looked back towards her companions who were more than half way down the corridor, Temari holding a one sided argument since Gaara refused to answer her ranting with anything more than 'Hn'. Knowing that her actions could be construed as snooping but knowing that she really wasn't going to be doing anything but looking she quickly made the decision to look at the window. As she moved into the wing Sakura immediately noticed that this window was different than all the other stain glass windows in the mansion. Instead of the usual depiction of flowers, beaches, mountains, or animals the window was done almost completely in pale green glass and black wrought iron.

Sakura squinted slightly and cocked her head trying to find what was wrong with the picture. _"Not __**wrong**__,"_ Inner Sakura said, her voice hushed as if others could hear her and she didn't want to get them caught. _"Just…off."_ Sakura nodded at Inner's words still studying the picture. Finally Sakura decided that the image was 'off' because the iron working looked rough and blockish instead of the rounded perfection she was used to seeing throughout the rest of the house. She smiled slightly as she let herself finally focus on the big picture. The image was of a mother cradling her child lovingly in her arms. The child was of normal skin tones but the mother was made up of the pale green glass with the exception of her oddly shaped red eyes.

Sakura felt a shiver run up her spine, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing at attention as her eyes told her mind that there was something deeply wrong with the image that she should be noticing. _"Look underneath the underneath,"_ Kakashi's voice from Team 7's genin days echoed in her head momentarily and Sakura closed her eyes for a moment then opened them, her concentration so great that she never noticed the figure that slipped up behind her silently. Sakura's eyes caught on the small metal plate beneath the window. _A Mother's Love_ was engraved into the plate in a jagged harsh script. Frowning now Sakura let her eyes become unfocused and then let her gaze drift over the image again.

The image snapped into focus suddenly and Sakura gasped, her mouth open to scream as the picture in front of her morphed into that of a green dragon, it's red eyes seeming to hold a sinister glow. What had once been the mother's hair framed around her face and her child turned into the serpent's jaws, giant jagged teeth ready to close around the infant.

-------

A/N: OMG I'm so sure that I've read that dragon window thing somewhere before but I can't think of where from. I'm pretty sure it was a book. –rips out hair- Ugh. If it is I apologize for copying it and I give credit to the author. (This is gonna bug me for a while I just know it. -.- If only I weren't such an avid reader. –sigh-) I couldn't think of anything else for the window though and the image just wouldn't leave my mind. –shrugs- Oh well. I realize that I'm being very jumpy with my scenes and I'm sorry if it bothers anyone. And for anyone who didn't know a tanuki is a raccoon dog, which is what Shukaku is, not a panda despite popular belief. -.- Thank you all for amazing reviews. I never thought anyone would like this story so much! I even got a few favorites! I'm so proud. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

P.S. This has to be my favorite chapter to date. XD

Black Rose


	8. Chapter 8

Sakura's throat clenched in horror, her scream catching in her throat as she back pedaled frantically, instinctively trying to get away from the image. She slammed roughly into something behind her and she let out a muffled scream as hands dropped onto her shoulders. She whirled around to face her attacker, kunai in hand as some part of her already panicked mind prepared her body for battle. "Whoa! Sakura chill!" Kankuro's alarmed voice penetrated the jumbled fog that was once her brain and she paused, kunai pressed to his throat. Sakura gasped for breath but pulled back when she saw the thin line of red that trailed down the puppet master's neck. She trembled slightly as she put away the weapon.

"I'm sorry Kankuro," she said shakily, her eyes shifting back to the window again. She flinched, the beauty of the window forever lost to her now, and looked away.

"One of Gaara's darker pieces," Kankuro said by way of explanation as his fingers pressed against his throat lightly trying to assess the damage the kunoichi had done. Sakura healed his throat automatically eyeing Kankuro questioningly while doing so. "Where else do you think these windows come from?" He was trying for a light tone but his voice was slightly strained and Sakura could tell that the window bothered him too. "Glass working has always been a hobby of Gaara's. Sort of his way of venting I guess. He used to do dark stuff like this when he still had Shukaku but after the demon was gone his work gradually became lighter themed." The puppet master's mouth twisted into a wry smile then he sobered. "Come on." He grabbed her hand and walked swiftly through the doorway and walked them down the corridor a ways before taking her up a flight of stairs.

"Where are we going?" Kankuro didn't stop but threw a grin over his shoulder at her.

"You'll see," was all he would say but he stopped in front of a door a few moments later. He turned to her, his grin widening. "Welcome to Suna's immortal garden." Sakura frowned in question but Kankuro just opened the door to the room and stepped aside so that she could enter. Sakura squinted as sunlight assaulted her emerald eyes, her hand coming up to shield her face. When her eyes had adjusted to the abundance of light Sakura couldn't help but gasp in wonder. It was indeed a garden in the octagon shaped room. There was a window on each wall and each window was of different kinds of flowers. White roses with vibrant green thorny vines, black and red hewed orchids, pinkish purple lilacs, sunflowers, violets of the deepest purple, blue irises, pink stargazers, and lavender chrysanthemums were on their respective walls flooding the room in a sea of colors.

Sakura couldn't help but slowly pivot to take in all the colors, a smile on her face, the horror of the Mother window all but forgotten in this display of beauty. Sakura turned to find a smiling Kankuro and he shrugged. "Gaara made it for Temari." Sakura gave him a you're kidding look and he nodded. "She likes botany and last year one of the maids left the door to her green house open and all her flowers died. She was really torn up about it for about a week and Gaara made this room for her so that no matter what she'd always have her flowers."

"That was very sweet of him," Sakura said softly, not really able to wrap her mind around the idea of Gaara doing something this sentimental for someone even if it was his sister. Kankuro chuckled.

"Don't tell him that. He glared daggers at Temari when she said it and locked himself in his work room for three days straight." Kankuro smiled fondly at the memory then shook himself from his thoughts. "Let's go, lunch should be about ready now." Sakura nodded and they made their way down to the living room.

"What happened?" Temari's voice was laced with concern as she looked the pink haired woman over briefly. "One minute you were right behind us and the next you were gone." Sakura opened her mouth to speak when Kankuro cut her off.

"I stole her away so I could ravish her wildly. You know how it is. I'm sure you and that Nara kid have done it a million times." Kankuro's grin was wide and more than slightly lecherous. Sakura ducked out of the way quickly and sat next to Gaara on the couch when she saw the blonde fan wielder's jaw drop and eyes flare with furry.

* * *

Sakura sat on her bed, staring at her window thoughtfully. The image was of milky white moonlight resting on distant dunes that appeared almost silver thanks to the moon's glow. Small stars flashed occasionally and she felt the erg to check for light bulbs behind the glass even though she knew she'd find none. Knowing that she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon thanks to the image of the dragon window flashing through her mind every time she closed her emerald green eyes Sakura stood up and opened the door to her room. She cautiously checked the corridor, hoping that she wouldn't run into anyone while she wandered. 

Sakura walked silently on bare feet to the heavy oak doors of the East wing and pulled one open, the door gliding open soundlessly on oiled hinges. She slipped inside and promptly lost an inch of height as her feet sunk into the thick green carpet. Wiggling her toes Sakura smiled and started to explore, her eyes coming to rest on the first stain glass window in the wing. Though almost as large as the dragon window the image was of a dense jungle instead, a giant striped tawny cat hidden amongst the foliage. When she finally spotted the tiger amid its surroundings Sakura blinked a few times as she stared into the glowing yellow eyes of the beast. She gulped as a thick knot of tension formed in her throat. The tiger looked as if it could jump from the window at any second and the effect was as fascinating as it was intimidating.

Moving on Sakura walked further into the wing until she reached the next window. Not nearly as large as the first but just as impressive, the just slightly larger than average window held the picture of a panther reclining lazily on the limb of a tree. Again and again Sakura saw various sized windows of different predatory cats as she moved throughout the wing. Finally she came to a smaller set of oak doors and opened one only wide enough to stick her head in to catch a glimpse of what lay within. Sakura froze when the figure on the large bed shifted against the purple sheets. Kankuro lay dead to the world in only a pair of purple and black striped boxers. He shifted onto his back suddenly and scratched his unkempt mop of brown hair sleepily before sighing and drifting back into a deeper sleep. Sakura stared at his face with a slightly twisted frown. If at all possible he looked weirder without his usual face paint than he did with it.

Shrugging Sakura retreated and closed the door softly. She made her way back through the wing and slipped back out into the open, her toes freezing instantly from the swift transition from plush carpet to smooth marble. Treading lightly, Sakura made her way to the South wing, eager to see what she would find there. As she reached the black walnut doors of the South wing she felt a chill run down her spine at the sheer menace that seemed to ooze from behind them. She took a few steps forward but stopped when a feeling of dread formed in the pit of her stomach. She turned away and quickly made her way to the West wing, periodically checking over her shoulder as she went. The golden redwood doors of the West wing had frosted water lily patterns on the set in glass. Pushing open the considerably lighter doors she slipped into the wing and felt the rough texture of cobblestones beneath her feet. The first stain glass window she came upon, like the two before them, was huge and took up most of its wall. A giant star, day, red and yellow blended, and white calla lily stood together, what little was visible of their stems tied in a love knot.

She moved on to the next window. The next picture was a Kissing Garden Iris, the light frost blue darkening as the color spread to the tips of the petals. Sakura couldn't help but smile. If the windows weren't so large and made of glass she could have sworn that the flowers were real. She was half tempted to put her nose to the glass and inhale to see if she could pick up a sent. She laughed at herself and moved on to a large red carnation. Just like the iris had been, the carnation was perfectly shaded, the deep red lightening to a pink and finally a slightly rosy white as the color spread to the tips of the ruffled petals. After seeing window after window of various flowers she knew to whom this wing belonged to long before opening the doors at the end of the corridor to poke her head into the bed room. She had never thought of Temari as someone who would be into flowers but the thick sent of many different flowers assailed her nose as she viewed the many potted plants around the large room. She smiled when she saw that Temari's hair blended fairly well with the golden petals of her sunflower blankets. She chuckled lightly and drew away when the older girl shifted in her sleep. After closing the door quietly she quickly made her way back to the entrance but paused once again at the iris window to admire the colors. How Gaara did all this with…. "What does he make these out of?" Her questioning voice, though soft, seemed to echo in the abandoned corridor and she ducked her head as she silently reprimanded herself.

"Sand, metal, dyes, and a great deal of heat," a voice said from the shadows causing Sakura to suck in her breath sharply in surprise. Her hand automatically went to the tastefully decorated senbon that held her upswept hair in place but her actions were halted when sand slithered around her body to still the movement. He stepped into what little light there was in the darkened corridor and raised a nonexistent brow at her. "You would attack the Kazekage in his own home? Few have dared what you have," his voice held a slight trace of amusement though his face was as impassive as ever.

Sakura gasped as sand abraded her nipples through the thin covering of her tank top. "I was only--"

"I know what you were doing," he said sagely before having his sand release her.

"It's beautiful," she said tilting her head towards the window, her eyes never leaving his. He did look away to the window then as if studying it for flaws. He turned away and started to walk towards exit. "I'd like to see more, if you'd show me that is," her voice though starting out strong faltered as she realized that she had practically demanded that she see more windows. Sakura gave herself a mental shake. She was probably overanalyzing the whole thing and Gaara had more than likely thought nothing more about her demand besides mentally telling her shove it.

"Are you coming or not?" His voice carried from the corridor outside the redwood doors and she hurried to catch up to him. He closed the doors behind her and walked towards the North wing. He lead her to the same large cherry wood doors she had seen earlier that day and the image of the dragon window popped into her mind suddenly, causing her steps to slow in anticipation. When they had finally walked through the doors and she had come face to face with the window again she couldn't help but flinch slightly. Instead of stopping however Gaara continued past the dragon window, his bare feet silent on the black marble floor. Sakura hurried after him but not before noticing the sunrise, twilight, and nighttime scenes on many of the smaller windows that lined the corridor. Another pair of doors were at the end, just like the West and East wings, but there was a stare case here that the other two had lacked and instead of entering what she had strong suspicions was his bed room he led her up them into the North tower.

Even with her ninja training, thanks to Gaara's fast clip, Sakura was slightly winded when they finally made it to the landing. He opened the lone door at the far side of the landing and led her inside the round room that made up the top of the tower. He turned off the lights in the room and Sakura blinked in surprise when the room didn't get darker. She looked up, curious, and found that the roof of the dome shaped room was a stain glass depiction of the night sky. A full moon hung in the inky blackness of the window surrounded by stars. She did a double take when she found the Big Dipper among the scattering of white dots. She cocked her head to the side then turned to Gaara, wonder evident on her face. Eyes going back to the celing she started to spin slowly as she pointed out all the constellations she could recognize. "Andromeda, Canis Major, Cygnus, Gemini, Leo, Orion, Scorpius, Taurus… you can even see where the stars swirl to make the Andromeda galaxy!" She turned back to her stoic companion. "They're beautiful Gaara." He ignored her comment and strode to the center of the room and pointed to Leo.

"You can see Regulus here. See how it's tinted blue instead of white like the others?" She nodded, her face splitting in a smile when she did see the Heart of the Lion. "There's Deneb, Altair, and Vega," he said pointing to the three stars that formed the Summer Triangle. "And there is Sirius." He pointed to Canis Major. Sakura searched the constellation but saw nothing. When she frowned in confusion she felt Gaara step up behind her. He grabbed her hand and used it to point to the star. He was closer than he had ever been and probably ever would be and she was surprised at how warm he was. She could feel his body heat through his black sweat pants and black sleeveless t-shirt. "See it?" Sakura nodded dumbly. "It's the brightest star in the sky which is why I made it so much larger than the others." She nodded again, trying to focus on anything other than the fact that he smelled so good. She couldn't quite place what it was, but it had an underlying sent of blood that she knew would never leave him.

"Oooh! The North Star," she said with forced excitement, trying to shift her focus. Gaara nodded.

"When it's finished the glass dome will rotate slowly all year so that it is in coincidence with the real night sky. Kankuro hasn't figured out the mechanics of it exactly yet but when he does you'll be able to see the stars no matter what the weather is like out side. The moon will even go through phases." Sakura turned to him with a smile.

"I'd like to see it when it's done." Gaara shrugged noncommittally and stepped back.

"Then come see it."

"You'll send word when it's done?" He cocked his head slightly then lifted one shoulder in a half shrug.

"I'll have Temari make a note of it." With that he turned as walked towards the door. Nothing more was said as he walked her back to her room across from the East wing. When they finally arrived he opened her door and stepped aside, an invisible eyebrow raised. "It's late. At this rate you won't be in any condition to travel in the morning. Get some rest." Without another word he walked off into the shadows. Sakura cocked her hip and crossed her arms over her chest. He really was way too arrogant for his own good. Someone would have to knock him off his high horse. She smiled. And she knew just who could help her do it.

* * *

Ridiculously long author note (if you read nothing else of this then read the last paragraph, it's _**important**_!): Late, I know. I'm sorry. My mom has this bad habit of taking her anger at one child out on all of us. So when one of my older brothers wracked up a cell phone bill of 3,000+ bucks (no lie!) she was, let's just say, a little pissed. –sweat drop- As I said, in her anger she told my little brother and I that she wanted the whole house cleaned from top to bottom and that I couldn't –sniff, tear- get on the computer till I had cleaned my room. –cries- I mean come on! What kind of communists am I living with! –takes deep breaths- I've also been viciously attacked by multiple plot bunnies this past week for some reason –swirly eyes- and I don't concentrate well when plot bunnies try to maul me so I had to write those down and posted some to the other Naruto "story" that I'm working on. Then yesterday (the 9th) was my birthday and ALL my brothers came home to celebrate. (x.x) I won't be fully recovered for about three months. BUT, on the plus side, I did avoid hospitalization this time! (Yay me!! –pops poppers-) We're not violent…okay so we are, but it's not like we purposely try to hurt each other…okay we do but…oh forget it. –sigh- :D I know what you're all thinking. "Excuses, excuses!" –runs from angry mob- 

Don't like this chapter at all. It is by far my most hated. It's fragmented and seems like it has no direction whatsoever, but I was only half finished with this Saturday night (-cough procrastination cough-) and then I got kicked off Sunday so I had to take all night tonight to even finish this chapter before Thursday because I knew the rest of this week would be crazy. I don't know when the next chapter of this will be up sadly. –twiddles fingers- I'm having surgery Thursday morning and you know how it is. Anesthetic, pain, drugs, and just plain hospitalization will take a lot out of me and though I may pump out small ideas for My Shinobi Way I don't think I'll be lucid enough to write anything for this. Sorry. Please don't kill me. –cringes in fear-

Black Rose


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura sped away from Suna as quickly as she could, desperate to get out of the desert as soon as possible. If her plan went off while she was still surrounded by sand Gaara could easily catch her. She tried to chuckle through a pant but only ended up choking on an indrawn breath. She dropped to her knees at the top of a dune, attempting to cough up a lung. When she finally caught her breath she looked up and saw the tree line in the distance and smiled. A few more miles and she'd be home free……

* * *

Gaara signed the last document on his desk and nodded at the Genin team standing in front of him, dismissing them. Their Jounin teacher pocketed the scroll that Gaara had given him then bowed to his Kazekage, the two boys following his lead while the only female stared at him with hearts in her blue eyes. Finally with a grimace the Jounin pushed the back of her head down into a bow and they left. Gaara sat back with an irritated sigh and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had finished earlier than he had expected and his "fan club" seemed to have abandoned their stalking for the day. For the first time that he could remember he had had a good day. There was even enough of the day left for him to cut work short and train. 

Gaara smiled slightly and jumped up from his seat. He arranged the documents neatly and grabbed his gourd from the corner before transporting himself to an old, relatively small, training area near the outskirts of Suna in a flurry of sand. He trained hard with a sand clone, first with replica's of his siblings then with various Leaf shinobi and finally with himself. He executed and dodged attacks at rapid speeds, trying to break through his own defenses. By the time the sun started to set he was shirtless, his pale skin gleaming with sweat, his breathing labored and chakra nearly depleted.

With his last burst of chakra he transported himself, shirt and gourd in hand, to his house. He opened the door and walked in, discarding his shoes in the entranceway. He walked into the living room and froze when he heard the collective gasp of roughly fifty women, ages ten to thirty. They were all eyeing him with hungry gleams in their eyes though the younger girls thoughts probably ran more towards how they could get him to take them out for ice cream or something similar. He scowled darkly but what had once sent the most cold blooded assassin scurrying for safety, or at least reevaluating if the job was worth their lives, only caused these women to sigh dreamily, some even going so far as to melt into boneless puddles on his furniture or floor.

Gaara felt the muscles of his right eye twitch as Yukiko stepped forward from the crush of bodies. She bowed slightly, her dark eyes glued to his bare chest. "Kazekage-sama," she said, her voice more than a little breathless.

"What are you doing here?" Gaara's voice was menacingly soft. She smiled widely at him, her white teeth gleaming.

"As president of your fan club and future mother of your children," Gaara's eye twitched again as the other women broke into loud a chorus of denials and Yukiko raised her voice to be heard over them, "may I officially welcome you home and shower you with never ending love Kazekage-sama." She smiled brightly at him and the other women bowed, their movements perfectly synchronized. Gaara felt a snarl build in the back of his throat but quickly suppressed it.

"How did you get in?" His voice was a low growl that caused the women to look at each other warily, finally realizing that they had done something wrong.

"W-well," Yukiko said, stuttering slightly in her nervousness. She cleared her throat and bit her lip nervously. "Haruno-san said that it was bad for us to invade your office the way we usually did because it looked bad to visiting dignitaries," Gaara blinked in surprise. Sakura had done that for him? "So she suggested we come to your home and-"

"She said what?" Gaara said, cutting her off, his voice taking on a demonic quality. The women's eyes widened collectively and they all took a few steps back from him, no doubt remembering that tone from when Shukaku had still inhabited his body. Yukiko's breath hitched and she stammered stupidly for a few moments, her fear getting the best of her.

"She told us to-" He cut her off again.

"She told you to come here?" She nodded mutely and held out a pink slip of paper suspiciously similar to the paper he had found taped to the book Sakura had sent him. He snatched it from her and quickly scanned the contents.

_**Gaara,**_

_**I thought it would be best if your legion of adoring fans showered you with affection in a more private setting. Be sure to check your underwear drawer before you let them leave or you might end up going to the nearest medic for chaffing. **_

_**Sakura **_

The note ended with a pink haired chibi head with green eyes winking at him as it blew him a kiss, a heart flying near by as if it had been produced from the kiss. Gaara's hands balled into fists, crumpling the note. He could feel his eye twitching furiously. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Kazekage-sama?" Yukiko's concerned voice was soft, hesitant.

"Everyone," he said slowly, enunciating each syllable. "Get out. Now." Ice dripped from his words and the women's eyes widened simultaneously as they realized the depth of his rage. As if a race had been started, the women scrambled over themselves trying to remove themselves from his sight. In seconds the house was vacant of females, leaving Gaara alone in the huge estate, trembling with furry. He stood still with his eyes closed, doing the calming breathing exercises he had learned to control his emotions when Shukaku had still inhabited him. It was a lot easier now that the demon's rage wasn't pushing at his senses telling him to slaughter everything that moved.

* * *

Sakura stepped into the medic tent back at the base camp and trudged back to her sleeping quarters tiredly, ignoring the eyes that followed her every move. She gathered clothes and a fluffy peach towel and scrubby before trudging back out to the showers. She stripped outside of the stall, not caring who saw her and stepped under the spray, surprised to find it lukewarm. She smiled slightly as she let the water wash the grime and sweat from her body. Finally she grabbed her shampoo and attacked the tangled nest that she liked to call hair. After rinsing and conditioning she focused on scrubbing sand from any and all crevices. Kami knew how the grainy substance got into places only he himself could reach. 

She smirked as she thought of the women who would be waiting for their beloved Kazekage's return home and chuckled lightly. She wondered if the women would really be bold enough to steal his underwear and her chuckling faded to a contemplative frown as her mind asked that age-old question. Boxer's or briefs? That thought brought a mental image of him in nothing but the bear minimum that she quickly shook from her head before it could progress any farther, sodden hair smacking and sticking to her face. Kami, she thought as she scrubbed her skin roughly in irritation. What am I, a horny teenager?

She rinsed and stepped into her towel, gathering her things in the small red plastic basket that held her bath things. She glanced down at the cheerful looking yellow duck that Naruto had given her for her birthday last year along with a bunch of body scrubs and scented lotions that had surprisingly been to her tastes. Though she couldn't use it in the showers she had brought the toy along on a whim and it made her smile on particularly rough days. I wonder if Gaara has bath toys, she thought and immediately her thoughts snapped to Gaara in the bathtub, pale skin gleaming slickly as water cascaded down his muscles. Sakura swallowed thickly as her mouth suddenly went dry at the image. She swore under her breath and firmly pushed the thought from her mind. Ugh, she thought. I'm getting worst than Kakashi.

* * *

Gaara walked to his room slowly when he was sure that he could move without putting his fist through a wall. He stopped at the door of his wing and narrowed his eyes in thought. He glanced down at the pink piece of paper still crumpled in his right hand then to the heavy cherry wood doors. He pushed them open forcefully and walked down the short hallway, his pace quickening with each step. He burst into his room and went straight to the black dresser across from his bed. He spared a glance to the large oval mirror that sat atop it to see that the visible parts of the room seemed untouched from where he had left everything that morning. He opened the top drawer of the dresser to find it empty. "Damn it," he whispered softly before slamming it closed again.

* * *

A/N: Okay so this is like the one of the shortest chapters I've written so far. -.- And no I didn't die contrary to popular belief. Just a dry spell and school starting on Monday. Didn't do my summer reading. –dies- So much for good first impressions. –sigh- Not entirely happy with this but oh well. I will try very, very hard to get back on track with my updates and sorry for the wait. 


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Okay. Let's just face it. I'll never be on time again. -.- Just expect my updates to be one or two days after my "deadlines". I'm officially giving up on updating on Saturdays or even Sundays. –eye roll- We all know that unless I get divine intervention it's just not gonna happen. –fights back tears of frustration- At least this chapter has teasers. That's a plus. So my excuse this time is that school has been kicking my butt (honors classes are hell. I actually have to _do stuff_ now instead of sit back and read or write like I used to do –rolls eyes-) and I actually have "challenging" work now. Not really but it does require that I drop my old bad habits of not doing homework and not paying attention in class so that I can actually pass my classes this year. As Shika would say, "What a drag."

* * *

Sakura sighed tiredly as she trudged into the infirmary. She checked various charts with blurry eyes and Mikomi walked over to her silently, taking the one she was holding and hanging it back on the end of the cot. "Go to bed. Makoto and I can pull the night shift." Though she knew she should, Sakura didn't argue and dragged her feet to her quarters, stripping off her blood splattered shirt tiredly. One would think that since she was such a devoted medic that the blood would be from treating the massive influx of patients she and the girls had been swamped with in the past two days but in reality it turned out that medics were the best interrogators you could find. She was one of the best medics in Konoha, second only to the Slug Princess herself and even that was debatable these days, and Ibiki wasn't above exploiting her abilities in the most gruesome ways.

She only wished she could get the mans screams out of her head now. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to get rid of the headache that had formed nearly twenty-seven hours ago. She stopped dead when she zipped the flap to her room and turned to find a half dressed Gaara lounging on her cot. She'd gotten her wish. The only thing in her head now were dazed wow's as she tried to pull her gutter clinging mind from where it had promptly dived at the sight of his defined chest and abs. He cracked one aqua eye open to look at her then shifted fluidly to a sitting position before standing up. He was barefoot and his feet glided noiselessly across the fluffy dark blue rug she had placed on her wood planked floor. She backpedaled at an angle, some part of her mind functioning well enough to tell her feet not to let her go crashing into the zipper that she was sure wouldn't hold her weight.

Her eyes dropped unconsciously downward and saw that his black pants were riding low on his slim hips, his pelvic grooves visible. Her thumbs ached to fit themselves to the hollows and she curled her hands into fists to keep from reaching for him. Sakura squeaked when she backed into the edge of her desk, momentarily tearing her eyes from his toned body to see what she had bumped into before flashing them back in his direction. Not her wisest decision ever. She gasped when her eyes registered his sudden closeness, his hands resting on either side of her hips on the desk as he leaned into her. She knew she was gaping but couldn't quite seem to keep her eyes on his…or close her mouth. Those wayward jade eyes drifted downward again and her heartbeat picked up rapidly, her breathing becoming more than slightly labored, as he moved his hips closer to her own, not quite touching.

Heat radiated off him in waves and the cold numbness that came with her interrogation work was rapidly lifting, leaving her hot and more than a little achy in quite a few places. Was that a bulge she saw in the front of his pants? Her heart lurched at the thought and she licked her suddenly dry lips. There suddenly didn't seem to be enough air in the room for the both of them. "Like what you see?" She jumped, his voice was slightly husky and his breath fanned her ear causing her to shiver since she hadn't noticed he had moved again, his head was next to hers, again not quite touching. Her mouth worked silently for a few seconds before her vocal cords decided to function.

"G-garra," she stuttered her voice little more than a squeak. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Gaara." She could feel him smirking but her eyes drifted to the flexing muscles in his chest and shoulders and that was all her mind could string together at the moment. "Garra."

"Now that we've established that you know my name let's see if you can scream it," his voice oozed sex and she gasped at the answering rush of wetness between her legs.

"W-what?" Her voice was breathless and she was about two seconds from slamming his sexy butt down on the desk and having her way with him. He lifted his head to look at her questioningly.

"I said, now that we've established that you know my name let's see if you can string a sentence together." His invisible eyebrows lifted. "What did you think I said?" Sakura blinked rapidly, confused, stuttering as she tried to explain.

"I…I thought…you said…" She shook her head roughly. "Never mind," she snapped, frustrated with herself now. "What are you doing here anyway?" He gave her a bland questioning look but didn't move from his position.

"You told me to find a medic." Sakura's eyes widened.

"When? For what?" As far as she knew, Garra was still one of the healthiest people she knew even without Shukaku to protect him anymore. A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, so small she was almost sure it wasn't there.

"Chaffing." She paled then flushed a bright red. They _had_ stolen his underwear.

"You…they…" her mouth worked again and this time he smirked openly. "They didn't?" Her expression was pained. She hadn't thought they would actually be bold enough to steal their Kazekage's unmentionables.

"They did," he said solemnly. "And I owe all of my…discomfort to you." She winced. "Now what do _you_ plan to do about it." Sakura choked.

"_Me?_" Her voice was panicky and he fought a smile.

"It _is_ your fault that I'm in this condition after all." Sakura gulped.

* * *

Gaara gasped as his eyes snapped open. He sat up in his bed more than slightly winded from the effort he had expended to form a life-like sand clone at this great a distance. He roughly whipped away the beads of sweat that had formed on his brow, irritated at how much chakra it had taken to pull off his little performance. Sand slithered across his thick crimson carpet to open the large French doors that led to his balcony. He sighed in pleasure as the cool desert air glided across his skin, ruffling his scarlet hair. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the moment before focusing on transporting the small jar of medicine Sakura had given "him" just moments before to his room. He grunted quietly with the effort but the small container was before him in a flurry of sand in a heartbeat.

Gaara braced one hand against his ebony sheets as a feeling of vertigo engulfed him, knowing he had depleted his chakra reserves for the night. He growled his irritation but flopped back onto his bed in resignation. Closing his eyes he replayed the information his Third Eye's had gathered while imbedded in his clone's head. By the gods he would have given anything to have actually been there. To have heard her breathing hitch as her heartbeat sped up. To have breathed her scent, felt her softness cushion him- Gaara jerked upward when he realized where his thoughts were going. "Gods," he breathed in shock and flopped back onto his bed. He threw one arm over his eyes and took slow deep breaths. Once he was calm he analyzed his response. He flipped over on his stomach and sighed as he closed his eyes.

Sakura was a desirable young woman. She had ample curves in all the right places. Any normal red-blooded man would be interested he told himself silently. He snorted derisively. When had he ever been a normal person? Shukaku had always been around to remind him he wasn't and now he was only left with echoes of his demon. He froze when he heard a raspy chuckle form in his mind, _**"I miss you too, Boy." **_Gaara groaned when he realized that the voice was actually in his head and not just a memory. Not just his imagination but confirmation of his last thought. He buried his head under his pillow.

* * *

It had been a week since her Gaara encounter and Sakura still found her nerves on edge. She had tried to burn off her excess energy by sparring with Kakashi, Naruto, Lee, and Neji but had quickly discovered, the first time that she was thrown to the ground, that the slide of dirt against her skin reminded her of _him_ so much to the point that she had actually started fanaticizing about him then and there. Kakashi, the only one to realize that her mind had left the fight, had had to pull her out of the way of Naruto's Rasengan before the hyperactive nin could blow her apart. After which she had cut the session short and declined any others that had been thrown her way.

Irritated by the memory she signed her last patient out with a flourish and forced a smile for him. "Good to go," she said as brightly as she could manage, "Change the patch on your cheek tomorrow and come see me in two weeks to see if we can remove your brace." He red head smiled at her and hopped down from the cot, waving behind him with his uninjured arm as he left the infirmary. Sakura sat back with a sigh and rubbed her eyes. She swore viciously when she realized that the grit that she hadn't bothered to whipped from her eyes this morning felt like sand. Sand made her think of _him_.

Mikomi, Hinata, and Ino looked up sharply at her, each surprised to hear that kind of language from her. Ino frowned darkly and planted her fists on her slim hips. Sakura suppressed a groan. She knew that her friend was ready to dig her claws into an argument. "Well if this isn't the loveliest bevy of beauties I've ever found myself among," the girls, with the exception of Mikomi who appeared to have heard him coming whirled towards the tent opening. Hinata squeaked in surprise and blushed madly before she had even gotten the chance to see who had entered, Ino snarled in irritation at having her plans thwarted, Mikomi finished restocking the cabinets with antibiotics and bandages and walked past him out the door with a small smile, and Sakura blinked in surprise when she saw Kankuro standing near the entrance with a huge smile plastered on his painted face.

Sakura blushed lightly at this unneeded reminder of Gaara and rose to greet the puppet master. "To what do we owe the honor Kankuro?"

He shrugged, "Meeting with the Hokage about us sending aid to your troops." Sakura frowned.

"Isn't that Temari's job? Intervillage negotiations I mean. I thought you were head of ANBU." Kankuro gave her a wry smile.

"I am. Temari's on leave in Konoha. Went to visit the Nara kid, what's his face, and she hasn't been answering any return summons Gaara's been sending out so here I am."

Sakura blinked in surprise. "Shikamaru's here."

"We know that now. We just don't know why she hasn't been answering her summons." Sakura nodded her understanding. "I'm just stopping by to say hello."

"Good timing I guess," Sakura said with a shrug. "I needed to talk to someone from Suna about the Kazekage anyway." Kankuro's brow furrowed in question and Sakura could almost see Ino's gossip gears turning. "If you don't mind ladies…" Sakura let her words trail off suggestively and Hinata, taking the hint to get lost, invited Makoto to have lunch with her. The two left with the latter chattering noisily to her shy companion. Sakura looked at Ino expectantly when the blonde sat down on a cot and smoothed her short skirt. "Ino?" Her friend looked up and smiled widely at her.

"Oh I don't mind. Go right ahead and talk. I'll be right here."

"_The hell you will,"_ Inner Sakura said dryly.

"This is a confidential meeting about a patient Ino. Please leave."

"There's something wrong with the Kazekage?" Ino's words oozed fascination and Sakura knew she would have to affect her friend with a genjutsu once she had gotten her out of the room.

"Ino. Leave. _Now._" Her friend got up with a huff and flounced out of the building. Sakura quickly secured the genjutsu and turned to Kankuro. "How's Gaara's condition?"

Kankuro's frown deepened to one of worry. "I didn't know there was anything wrong with him."

"Well that's probably normal. Who really wants to discuss these kinds of problems anyway and the circumstances that led up to it are a bit embarrassing…" Sakura shook her head to clear it when she realized that she was rambling.

"What's wrong with Gaara, Sakura?"

"Nothing too serious," she said quickly when she noticed the increasing panic in Kankuro's eyes. "Just some chaffing." The puppet master looked at her blankly.

"Chaffing?"

"Yeah. You know, like from not wearing underwear." Sakura's voice dwindled to little more than a whisper at his confused expression. Kankuro shook his head.

"I get all that but he couldn't have chaffing, or else he's had it for years and didn't say anything." It was Sakura's turn to look confused but the implications of Kankuro's words were slowly clicking in her mind. She stilled, her confusion was rapidly turning to rage.

"_He's screwing with us,"_ Inner Sakura screamed, her eyes blazing as she spit fire with every word. _"He came here all hot and half naked to SCREW WITH US! Probably laughed his ass off all the way home!" _

"I don't understand," Sakura said calmly despite her silent implosion. Kankuro gave her a searching look before speaking cautiously as if he could sense her newfound bloodlust.

"Gaara doesn't wear underwear. Hasn't for years."

* * *

A/N: So…can you tell I'm just rambling now? Writers block sucks. This whole chapter (with the exception of the Gaara/Sakura hotness in the beginning) sucked. I know where I wanna take this, just not how to get there. It'll be good when I do though. Promise. Sorry again for extreme lateness. Everyone and their mother has decided to die in the past four weeks for some reason. -.- I'm posting this early –cough late cough- because I'm off to Florida today as soon as my parents get home for my uncle's funeral. Not sure when the next chapter will be up but I'll try to make it longer than most to make up for it or at least fill it with Gaara/Sakura hotness. Hopefully I'll have a weekend home for once and be able to at least have the illusion of posting on time.Thanks for reading, even if the chapters seem to be going down the toilet.

Black Rose


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Okay so this may not flow exactly because I wrote the hot parts before I wrote the middle (was intended for a different story all together but here it is –blush-) and I was gonna use the middle as the beginning so I had to build up to the hot stuff and it just wasn't working so I just separated the hot stuff with a "flashback" like thing which is really just one of those loop things that show you the result then goes back to show you how it happened then goes back to the results. If you understood that, then congratulations – gives you giant cookie for understanding my warped explanation - Though I do try to keep this as Naruto-universe correct as possible in some areas I just didn't know how this scenario would work there so I just used Westernized fashions. Think Regency England if you're a bit confused with the "rules of society". Hope you don't mind too much. Now on to hotness!

* * *

He yanked her forward and kissed her. And, if before that instant she had thought he stood by aloofly, observing life from the sidelines with his, more than a little, regal Kazekage air - she discovered that she was mistaken. There was nothing detached about his hungry mouth moving over hers, nothing aloof about the powerful grip of his arms on her back as they pressed her forward into the heat of his body, nor in his blunt fingers, tangled in her hair, grasping tightly at her skull. There was nothing detached at all, and his intensity laid waste to her powers of reasoning. His unexpected display of temper had stunned her and he'd pulled her to him so quickly she'd hardly had time to react. Automatically, she raised her hands to ward him off. But for just an instant she was caught up in the contrast of how things appeared to be and how they actually were could be so devastatingly different. For instance, Gaara's mouth appeared hard and stern - but, Kami help her, it was soft. It was strong, hot, yet not hard – no, not hard at all.

Having hesitated for even that brief instant, she forgot exactly what it was that she'd been about to object to. Being manhandled maybe? Something like that. She didn't remember and she didn't care. Any objection she might have raised was swamped beneath a wave of excitement and when her hands came into contact with the hard plain of his chest, her fingers, which had arrived with every intention of pushing him away, spread instead across his chest, and sliding up over his collarbones trying to dig into the warm resilient flesh that covered his muscular shoulders but met only cloth. Her eyes remained wide open and dazed. Gaara's mouth kept opening over hers. Restlessly, he slanted his lips over the fullness of hers, pulling at her mouth with a soft, hungry suction. When she didn't open to him immediately, he raised his head and stared into her eyes for a moment, and then came at her from another direction, using the hand in her hair to tilt her face to accommodate him.

He widened his mouth around her lips and then slowly dragged it closed, tugging at her lips. She didn't even think twice. Sakura's lips simply parted beneath his, and Gaara made a wordless sound of satisfaction deep in his throat. His tongue was slow and thorough. It slid along her bottom lip and explored the serrated edges of her teeth. Releasing his grip on her head, Gaara pulled her closer into the heat of his body, moving his pelvis against her with suggestive oscillations. His tongue rubbed along hers, and nerves Sakura hadn't even known she possessed, flamed to acute, throbbing life. Her tongue surged up to challenge his and she arched against him, sliding her arms up to wrap tightly around the strong column of his neck, all the while plunging her fingers into his crisp hair. She was aware of every muscle in his body as he pressed against her, and she could feel him, hard and hot and erect against her stomach. Murmuring soft sounds of excitement, she raised to her toes, unhooking the skirt of her gown and letting the fluffy material pool at her feet before agilely lifting her leg to hook the hollow of her knee behind his hard butt and pressing his hips forward with her calf until the hot rigidity was aligned to the pulsing hollow that throbbed between her legs with an urgent need to be filled.

How had they gotten here? Her dazed mind sifted through everything leading up to this point and couldn't help but still be confused. The mission had started out normal enough…

* * *

Sakura held up the dress with a satisfied smirk and turned it to check if she had missed any seams. Mikomi looked at the remaining scraps thoughtfully before quickly pulling off her forehead protector and replacing it with a strip of the cloth. She smiled slightly at the pink haired woman before nodding. "You'll knock 'em dead." With that the raven-haired beauty turned and exited the infirmary.

Makoto giggled before whispering, "She's going to go see her _boyfriend_." The hyperactive girl danced out of the building with a smile, not knowing the carnage she had left in her wake. Ino turned from her post at the charts slowly.

_"Boyfriend?"_ The blonde asked, her voice seeming more than a little demonic in Sakura's opinion. "I think I need a lunch break." Ino started for the door eagerly before Sakura's voice, acting as an invisible lasso, yanked her back.

"Leave her alone Ino. You know we can't depend on what Makoto says. Besides, you have to help me with my outfit and we leave in twenty minutes." The blonde huffed and walked over to survey her friend's clothing choices. She blinked in surprise.

"Where'd you get _that_? It doesn't look like anything you would wear _at all_. But it's so _cute_," Ino gushed. "I didn't know you had any fashion sense Forehead." Sakura pursed her lips in agitation.

"Go away Pig," she said simply before turning back to her wardrobe. She saw Hinata connect the remaining scraps of cloth to her pointy healed stilettos so that the cloth would wrap around her ankles when she put them on. She smiled at the quiet girl and started to shove her clothes into a pack. Shikamaru slumped into the infirmary lazily, almost being bowled over as Ino rushed out. He stumbled a bit before righting himself, a mumbled "Troublesome…" slipping from his lips. "What can we do for you Shikamaru?"

He sat down on a cot tiredly before stretching out, arms crossed behind his head. Sakura felt her eyebrow twitch upwards. _"What does he think this is a bed and breakfast?" _Sakura mentally waved away her inner's words before stuffing more supplies into her pack.

"Reinforcements from Sand should be arriving tonight," the lazy young man said finally, not even bothering to open his eyes to speak. Both Sakura and Hinata's heads popped up at his words, giant smiles spreading across their faces.

"That's great! Who are they sending?" Shikamaru shrugged at the pink haired woman's question.

"They haven't said. We'll just see when they get here I guess. Two are being provided as yours and Ino's partners on your missions though."

"They didn't say or you were too lazy to fully read the message they sent?" He twitched at the pink haired woman's tone and sighed deeply before rising to his feet and shuffling out of tent.

"Troublesome…" he muttered as he stepped through the flap. Hinata chuckled lightly knowing that was confirmation of Sakura's theory. The pink haired woman sighed and shook her head at the lazy man.

* * *

Ten minutes later Sakura and Ino, accompanied by Neji and Shino, were bounding through the trees at almost imperceptible speeds. "Here's your turn off Ino," the bug master said in his soft way, falling back from his position in the lead to align himself with the two women. "The village is more slums than anything else. Be careful. Meet up with your-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. What am I a genin?" Ino rolled her eyes. "I've been doing this kind of thing for a long time B-" she caught herself, "…Aburame." Sakura fought the urge to laugh as her friend rolled her baby blue eyes once more for effect before breaking from the group - a pained looking Neji following closely after her. Sakura knew how hard it was for her friend to not call Shino 'Bug Boy', and though she found the situation funny she did still feel a twinge of guilt that even after all this time the silent man had yet to truly be accepted by anyone outside of his old genin team and Naruto - though he didn't really count since he would accept a two headed chicken with a pig's snout if you could still put it in ramen. She snorted a laugh at the mental image and earned a raised eyebrow from her stoic companion.

She muffled a giggle with a cough and increased her speed. Two hours later Sakura was staring awestruck up at the village that would be her home and base of operations for the next three days. The place oozed money and she wasn't even inside yet. "Meet with my partner in an hour at the hotel, keep a low profile, and don't put any grabby assholes through any walls, right?" Shino simply nodded and Sakura knew that she had covered all the points on his mental checklist though her own mind was still trying to remember the etiquette lessons from her kunoichi classes. For some reason she had the feeling she'd need them on this mission. Fabulous, she thought in dismay.

"Steak fork and knife are in the middle, salad is innermost, butter knife will be with your bread or across your bread plate, and desert fork and coffee spoon are above the dinner plate horizontally." Sakura shot him a grateful glance, more than a little amazed since that had to be the most she had ever heard him say at once since the chuunin exams. "Be careful." he said softly before leaving her alone. Despite the fact that Aburame said that to everyone when leaving them alone for any amount of time on a mission, Sakura couldn't help but feel that, though he never really did it, he was putting extra emphasis on the phrase for her since it was common knowledge to civilian and shinobi alike that she had little to no tolerance for disrespectful men - whether they were wearing a flannel or Armani, didn't really matter to her.

"Don't put anyone through a wall," she muttered to herself grimly before leaping to the ground and changing her clothes.

She found and entered her hotel on autopilot, silently repeating what Shino had told her as she went. Maybe if she repeated it enough she'd remember it latter at dinner. _"Fat chance,"_ Inner Sakura muttered derisively and she fought the erg to sigh. After finding her room she used the key card given to her at the start of her mission and stepped inside quickly, dropping her bag by the door. She froze instantly upon entering, immediately sensing the other presence in the room. She almost wished it _were_ an enemy-nin sent to take her out when she discovered just who it was. Sakura turned on the lights to find Gaara reclining on the overlarge bed.

Inner Sakura swore viciously, long and loud, at the sight of him. Sakura clenched her hands into fists when he smirked at her. Inner Sakura growled savagely, _"You know, Shino never said anything about windows…"_As tempting as the offer was she refused to let him shake her.

"Where's your room?" Gaara glanced around the room in a way that clearly said, "I'm in it." Sakura's jaw clenched. "Where are you sleeping?" He looked down at where he was laying then back at her with one invisible eyebrow raised. Great, he was staying here. Sakura fought the urge to snarl and dragged her bag into the master bathroom to shower. An hour later, a personal best for her, Sakura walked out of the steamy bathroom to find Gaara shrugging into the black jacket of his suit. He glanced at her, even gave her the satisfaction of a double take. He stood frozen for a moment as his mind tried to verify that what he was seeing was real.

Sakura stood before him in an elegant black dress, splashes of pink sakura petals falling in a graceful arch from her right shoulder to her left leg as if blown by a wind only they could feel. The length of the almost transparent skirt came to points at different lengths, the longest ending at mid-calf, showing flashes of silky skin here and there. The dress was saved from immodesty only by the folds that created concealing shadows around her hips. His eyes drifted up her body, lingering with mild surprise at how large her normally diminutive bosom appeared against the heart shaped neckline of her gown. "Like what you see?" She smirked as she threw his own words back at him. Gaara, belatedly remembering to breath, exhaled sharply in a near silent snort and turned his attention back to his silver cufflinks. Gods, he thought dazedly. He heard her heals clicking on the tiling that extended a good foot and a half past the bathroom door before the sound was engulfed in the thick cream colored carpet. He glanced at her again, thinking that he was more prepared to view her in this state now that he knew it was coming. He was wrong. She had the same captivating effect and he shook his head in disgust.

This mission was going to be more trouble than he thought. "Are you ready?" He didn't dare look at her again when he asked the question, focusing instead on pushing his feet into the shiny closed in shoes. He wiggled his toes restlessly, unused to having the digits confined.

"Mmmhm," she hummed as she applied a lavender eye shadow to her lids, quickly but efficiently. Gaara watched the process of applying eyeliner and mascara with a raised eyebrow, wincing mentally as the pencil neared her eye. He shook his head at her antics and rolled his eyes. She dabbed her lips with a raspberry colored lipstick and a light coat of gloss before henging her hair a deep russet brown and turning to him with a small smile. "Ready." For the second time that night Gaara found himself floored by the drastic change before him. She was…perfect. He clamped down on his thoughts before poetry could bubble into his mind and out of his mouth, a frown tugging his features downwards.

"Let's go," he commanded shortly as he walked past her to the door. He had a feeling the night would only get worst from there.

* * *

Gods, he thought sourly. Why did he always have to be right? The cocktail party was a huge success, with nearly two hundred guests attending. Various men dressed to impress, their women dripping with diamonds and other precious stones, their artificially made hourglass figures crammed into scraps of cloth that had the nerve to call themselves dresses. Gaara sipped his champagne slowly, his eyes straying towards his "sister". The pink haired woman stood at the heart of a group of men, no doubt regaling one of their many fabricated childhood escapades. The men present had been watching her all night, undressing her with their eyes. They had flirted, charmed, and pursued her all evening, a few even going so far as to proposition her. It was enough to make him itch to slaughter everyone in the room with a Y chromosome. _**"Mine…"**_ Shukaku snarled in the dark recesses of his mind. Gaara was in no mood to contradict his madness and almost growled aloud when a blonde haired man rested his hand on Sakura's thigh, dangerously close to the apex of her legs. His hand tightened convulsively around the champagne flute he held, but he immediately loosened his grip when he heard the near silent ringing that signaled he was dangerously close to shattering the delicate glass.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and shifted his eyes away. If he saw another man touch Sakura in any fashion he couldn't be held accountable for his actions. No one would blame him for the massacre. A man could only be expected to endure so much, after all. He noticed Sakura move towards the dance floor with a dark haired man and he tensed. If where the man's eyes were lingering were any indication to his intentions the man planned for the dace to be more graphic than a standard Salsa should be. He ground his teeth and turned to walk out a set of French doors leading to a large terrace. Once outside he took a deep breath of the cool night air, grateful for the lack of the thick cloying cloud of various perfumes that permeated the dance floor.

Gaara closed his eyes, welcoming the moment of relative silence. Yet the silence was soon shattered by a voice beside him, interrupting him from his solitude. "Oh you must be Akina's brother. She's told everyone so much about you, but I've yet to see you actually talk to someone." She chuckled. "You don't look as if you're enjoying yourself either. Don't like parties?" He mentally twitched in annoyance, partly because she had dared to bother him and partly because her voice seemed to be stuck in a perpetual state of nasal squeakiness. It was even higher pitched and grating than the Yamanaka girl's and that was a feat that he almost applauded her for. It had to be a hard thing to do.

"Not parties per say," he muttered. "It's the people at the parties that I dislike." The woman giggled.

"I hope I'm not included," she said batting her eye lashes at him. Gaara just shrugged and she pouted playfully and stepped closer to him, leaning forward slightly to show off her ample bosom that was nearly falling out of her skimpy gold top. "I'm Yumi by the way." Gaara nodded his understanding and let silence fall between them again. He noticed her eyes narrow in annoyance, at being ignored, out of the corner of his eye. "What's yours?" Gaara fought the urge to sigh.

"Kiyoshi, there you are!" He turned to see Sakura coming towards him, a horde of men following after her. She walked over and hooked her arm into the crook of his elbow. "I'm quite fatigued big brother; I believe it's time we headed back to the hotel." She fixed him with a sweet smile and he nodded. He started to lead her back inside when he remembered the manners Temari had tried to beat into him in the forty-eight hours before he left.

"It was a pleasure talking to you Yumi," he said before walking away.

"Ta, love," she called after him, "I hope to see you again soon." When they had finally entered their hotel room Gaara took off his shoes gratefully, happy to be rid of the uncomfortable shoes. He wiggled his toes in the carpet and shrugged out of his jacket, one hand reaching up to unbutton his shirt as soon as it was freed.

"Don't strip," Sakura said dryly, "I don't have any cash on me." Gaara turned to give her a bland look before taking off his cufflinks. "Don't get comfortable, we're leaving as soon as you get changed." Gaara turned to her, one non- existent eyebrow raised in surprise. Sakura fluffed her hair. "Ryoichi invited me to go dancing at a club with him in an hour and I told him I'd meet him there." She glanced at him. "_Without _my overprotective older brother -he was the one who danced with me at the party."

"I trust he's our mark and this isn't just a fun night out?" Sakura rolled her eyes at him.

"No, I just decided to go clubbing. Never got enough of that as a teen you know, with missions, and all that." He nodded.

"In that case I'll stay here."

* * *

Sakura had changed into a pair of tight stretchy leather like shorts, her long legs bared to her feet now encased in a pair of red spike heals. Her taught midriff was bared by her cropped red corset top, black ribbon and lace standing out against her pale skin drawing his eyes. He could see the straps of her red string thong leading out of those sinfully tight shorts, and he swallowed thickly, averting his eyes only to find them pulled back to her a few seconds later. She had changed her makeup to dramatic reds and glitter that glinted every time her facial expression shifted. She piled her now dark hair on top of her head clumsily, securing it with several red-beaded senbon. The effect was a messed, after sex look that had him shaking his head to clear the lewd thoughts he had been entertaining since seeing her exit the bathroom.

Gaara pulled the white short-sleeved shirt on over his black mesh shirt, leaving it open, the silver buckles on the front glinting in the artificial light. He flipped the collar down and ran a hand through his now long black bangs, getting them to flop to one side and hang over his honey brown eyes. He fastened a thin sliver studded collar around his neck, hooking three silver hoops in his right ear and two black studs in the left. Gaara laced up his steel-toed boots and pulled the baggy leg of his Tripp's down, causing the many chains to jingle merrily. "Let's go," he said softly, looking up to catch his partner adjusting herself in her corset. Gods, he groaned inwardly. He hoped they got the information they needed tonight, a he didn't think he could handle two more nights like this with his tempting partner without acting on his baser needs.

They entered the smoky club separately, Sakura taking a seat at the bar, scanning for her "date". Half an hour later Gaara came up to the bar, his arm brushing hers as he edged away from a man all in leather and mesh, making out with what looked like another man. He ordered vodka straight and threw back the shot the bar tender gave him easily. He ordered another and turned so that his back was to the bar, his torso inclined towards her. "He's in a VIP booth, watching you. He's almost directly in front of us - to your right." Gaara said softly. Sakura hummed her understanding, sipped her brandy then turned to him smiling. She leaned forward, her breath fanning his ear.

"Dance with me." Gaara raised an eyebrow at her. She ran her fingers over the taught muscles under his mesh shirt playfully. "He's watching us. Let's give him a show." Gaara nodded and drank his shot. Sakura slipped down from her stool and walked out onto the packed dance floor as a slower song came on over the giant speakers, hips swaying invitingly. Gaara followed her out onto the dance floor cautiously keeping his usual distance but when she turned around she wrapped her arms round his neck, pulling her body up against his. Gaara fought back a groan at the feel of her full breasts cushioning against his chest. By the Gods, he thought. He might not survive this night.

He pushed one knee between her knees as she started to sway to the music, pulling her hips flush with his. Her hands reached up to tangle in his hair as they moved together, almost every available surface pressed together. He didn't even feel the urge to wash like he usually did after people touched him, and his sand didn't stir. Their bodies moved together fluidly, rocking against each other to the beat of the music, her curves fitting to his hollows flawlessly. Sakura moved her face to the side of his, her fingers sifting through his hair as she nibbled on his ear. It took everything he had not to react to her actions but he knew she felt his newfound tension. She chuckled lightly. "Time to go to work," she whispered before turning away from him, making sure their mark caught her eye. She smiled broadly and sauntered over to Ryoichi, leaving Gaara to return to his seat at the bar.

* * *

Was the whole world out to get him? Gaara suppressed a sigh as he sipped his champagne. Once again he was in the middle of a cocktail party and Sakura was surrounded by fawning men. The only exception to this party was that the woman from last time - what was her name again - had stuck to his side as if they shared a lung, since his arrival. Last night had been his own, personal hell. Shukaku hadn't allowed him a moment's peace, filling his head with all the things they could do to Sakura - as if his own mind wasn't efficient enough in that area. He'd spent the night on the balcony star gazing, knowing that if he crawled into bed with her, he'd be inside her before she was even awake. He heard the group of men laugh raucously at some joke Sakura had told and he glanced over at her, catching a glimpse of her through the crush of bodies. Her shimmering satin gold gown cascaded in waves around her to the floor, the embroidered cross front caught the light every now and then causing the bodice of her gown to flash and sparkle, giving her an untouchable celestial air. At least that's how he felt. If the attitude of the men in the room was anything to go by she was _very _touchable.

Gaara suppressed a growl and the urge to gulp down his drink. By the gods, if all this kept up he really would end up castrating every man here. _**"Starting with Ryoichi," **_Shukaku snarled as the man placed his arm around Sakura's shoulders, tucking her into his side as much as "good manners" would allow. He turned his attention back to Yumi in time to catch the tail end of what she was rambling.

"…And I've always thought that was in very bad taste. I mean come on who do they think they are? Don't you agree?" She looked up at him with soulful gray eyes, with a sheen of liquid glossing over the orbs and giving her the look of someone about to cry. What had she been talking about?

"_**Who gives a damn?" **_Gaara bit back a laugh. Shukaku had echoed his thoughts exactly. He was almost sure that Yumi would be tolerable if she wouldn't talk but that grating voice of hers made him want to slit her throat just to watch the bubbles froth after the initial spurting was finished. Gaara paused. That thought hadn't been anywhere near natural. He heard Shukaku chuckle darkly and fought the urge to groan. He was becoming less and less aware of his madness.

"Uncle says crazy people don't know they're crazy so as long as you know you're sane," an eight-year-old Temari's words sounded in his head, the lines from a conversation long forgotten. Gaara mentally rolled his eyes, obviously logic had never been her strong point. Gaara nodded and Yumi grabbed his arm in a hug.

"I knew you'd agree!" Agree? Agree to what? Oh yes. She'd been talking. He pulled his arm from where it had become lodged into her cleavage and took a step away from the clingy woman only to have her step forward to invade his personal space again. His eyes drifted back to Sakura only to find her gone. Gaara straightened noticeably.

"Where is my sister?" Yumi narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know, one would think that you two are more than siblings from the way you look at each other." Gaara turned to her slowly, his expression as neutral as always.

"And how is that?" Yumi stepped back, fear edging into her eyes as if she instinctively sensed that he was death on a leash…a _very_ thin leash.

"Like you're lovers who'd rather be-"

"Any feelings that I have for my sister are as they should be," Gaara said cutting her off, "platonic." Yumi snorted delicately and opened her mouth to speak when Sakura appeared at his side.

"May I borrow my brother from you please?" She gave the woman a blinding smile as she tugged Gaara into motion without waiting for her to answer and pulled him out an open set of doors and around a corner leading to a long hallway, and turned another corner a few feet later. "Ryoichi's invited me into his den of inequity tonight after the party, if every thing goes well I can throw a genjutsu over him and get our info tonight. We can-" she said, stopping short as Gaara's hand raised lightning fast to capture her chin. "Gaara-" she started to ask but his fingers tightened almost painfully against her skin and he spoke, once again cutting her off.

"He touched you." He knew he was being illogical. He had no reason to feel this searing mind numbing _jealousy _as he stared at what promised to grow into a _much_ larger hicky on the side of her neck. Shukaku moved restlessly in his mind, pacing like a caged panther.

"_**Kill him,"**_ the demon whispered venomously. _**"Take his head between your hands and squeeze until he pops like the disgusting puss filled blister he is. Rip his spine out through his eye sockets. I want to taste his blood, feel it against our skin, see it paint the earth and sky, in shades of crimson for daring to even **__**think**__** of touching what is ours!" **_Gaara trembled with the force of his rage, not caring for the moment that he had once again slipped into madness. He saw the world darken slightly as if a film had been dropped over it, felt his eyes warp and shift, the characteristic blurring of his sight signaling Shukaku's growing control over him. He was suddenly acutely aware of the pulse jumping in the hollow of her throat, the hitch in her breathing and the tightening in her muscles as adrenalin pumped into her veins, as she instinctively sensed this deadly change in him.

Sakura gasped as she watched his eyes darken substantially, the usual light green shifting to a rich gold, forming a pattern against its black background - Shukaku's eyes. She watched Gaara close them briefly, taking deep breaths. When he opened them the orbs were the same slightly washed out green that they usually were, leaving her wondering if she had imagined the whole thing. She _had _refused therapy after Gaara had attacked her at the Chuunin Exams. Maybe this was her mind's way of telling her that it had suppressed the trauma of the experience for as long as it could and was finally starting to break down. "He touched you," Gaara said again, his voice fractionally more controlled than had been before. Sakura swallowed thickly, trying to find her bravado and stop her lips from trembling.

"He always-"

"Neveragain," he said, interrupting her, his voice little more than a hiss. "_Never._" His hand shifted from her chin to tangle in the neat bun of her hair, gripping tightly and pulling her closer, her neck arching as he forced her to meet his eyes. "Say it, Sakura." Sakura felt her anger flare at being man handled like this. Who did he think he was?

"Gaara-"

"Say it." She felt her eyes widen in shock. His voice was low and rough, reminding her too much of the demon he used to be.

"Gaara, what's wrong with you?" Her voice was soft and more than a little frightened. She hadn't seen _this_ Gaara in a long time. He tightened his hand in her hair painfully, causing her to cry out softly.

"_Say it," _he demanded again and Sakura licked her suddenly dry lips, her hand lowering slowly from where she had been previously lifted to grip his forearm.

"Never again, Gaara," she said softly, her voice trembling almost as much as she was.

"Good." With that, he yanked her forward, crushing his lips to hers.

* * *

I still don't understand, Sakura thought hazily, bringing her mind back to the present. _"Who gives a damn?" _Sakura mentally shrugged in agreement at her Inner's words and very slowly, her eyes slid closed. Gaara groaned and kissed her harder, aroused nearly to a frenzy. Meaning only to lean her against one of the many supports lining the hallway, but misjudging the distance from where they stood, slamming her against the wall and rocking against her with slow, mindless insistence. One large hand slid slowly up the leg locked around his hip, stroking from knee to thigh, pulling her closer into him before griping her firm, stocking covered bottom with wide splayed fingers. "Sakura," he breathed into her mouth, and then, unable to bear even that slightest separation, he kissed her harder, his mouth hungry and a little rough against hers. Sakura kissed him back, following his lead exactly. He eased his chest back enough to wedge his free hand between their tightly compressed bodies. Palm pressed flatly against the bodice of the gown bonded to her ribs, his thumb spread wide of the rest of his fingers. He slid his hand up until it covered her breast. They both inhaled sharply, simultaneously. Sakura's back arched, pushing her breast more fully into his hand. Gaara's hand kneaded and rotated, pressing the resilient fullness back against the wall of her chest, his fingers curving to capture the overflow.

He was frustrated with her dress. She looked so good in it but it protected her flesh from invasion so efficiently he was sure that it could be considered for a new style of ANBU body armor. He wanted to sink his fingers into her, skin on skin, feel the pebbled texture of her nipple against his palm, pluck it with his fingertips, taste it on his tongue. But the damn outfit had no buttons and the neckline was too tight to slide his hand into. The only concession of flesh the dress gave was the one bared shoulder. Gods, it looked so promising but it was a tease, a damn iron maiden. "Help me Sakura," he panted then fisted her hair in both hands to hold her head in place while he sank his teeth into the side of her throat, marking her as his. Sakura gasped, her hips arching into his as she obediently reached up to take off her top when a door closed loudly down the hall.

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A/N: Not on time but definitely worth the wait huh? –blushes happily- Thanks SO much to **xxtokidokixx **for last minute BETAing. (Yes I finally have one! –throws confetti-) Anyway, hope you all enjoyed. Sorry for the cliffhanger though. –blush- I'll try to have the next chapter up soon but I SERIOUSLY doubt it will be anywhere near as long as this one plus I don't think I'll have time to even be on the computer anymore except weekends and Fridays after 6 (maybe late on Wednesdays) so I can write. x.x I take on too many things I think but never fear this story will go on…even though it's already much longer than I had planned on it being. –cough- . Thanks for reading!

Black Rose


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Um...yeah. Sorry for lateness but obviously LJ and FF hate me this week.

-.- Anyway, um…-shifty eyes- I don't know what's wrong with me. If there was a higher rating I'd put one on this. x.x for some reason, even though I didn't plan on it, this is turning into a _very _citrusy fic. I just might need to get an AFF account. (This happens all the time with me for some reason. I just _**can't**_ write a romance without smut. –sigh-) Well I guess that's what the _M _rating is for. –shrug- Enjoy.

* * *

The sound cleared Gaara's lust fogged mind immediately. 

Gods, he thought, panic edging into his consciousness. He had been seconds away from taking his "sister" here against the wall, with their mark and a group of people not even fifteen feet away or separated from them by a real wall. He jumped back from her so quickly she stumbled and almost fell. Gaara closed his eyes as he tried to steady his ragged breathing. Sakura stood against the wall, blinking dazedly at him. "Fix your dress," he hissed to her venomously as he tried to straighten his own clothes. He heard the rustling of fabric and opened his eyes in time to catch Sakura pulling her full skirt back up her impossibly long legs. Those same legs that had been locked over his hip just seconds before, giving him enough room to fit himself- Gaara swore viciously as realized where his thoughts were headed.

He glanced at her to see her small hands flitting from place to place, straightening her already smooth dress, hair, and makeup needlessly. She had an oddly shattered look in her jade eyes and he felt a tug in his stomach that urged him to pull her into his arms. _**"And that dress from her body." **_Shukaku's whisper shattered the unfamiliar tender feeling instantly and Gaara shook his head at himself.

"Get yourself together," he bit out harshly before walking stiffly back to the party. Sakura watched him go, her mind still trying to revive the brain cells that had short-circuited during the kiss. She took a deep breath and forced her mind to a calm state before walking back to the party, a slightly stiff smile plastered on her face. She found herself instantly swarmed by men and knew that she would crack if any of them touched her. The smile she gave them was brittle.

"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me I'll be going now," she said softly, her eyes locked with those of Ryoichi.

* * *

The sound of the door closing sounded so 'final' to her ears - a death bell. For some reason the huge bed in the room seemed to have widened a few miles in their absence. Sakura swallowed thickly, trying to get the dry feeling out of her mouth. Gaara hadn't looked at her, much less touched her, since The Kiss. Her mind had already labeled it one of the momentous things in her life. She rolled her eyes at her childishness turned to face Gaara only to whirl back around with a squeak when she saw him, the lean muscles of his bare back rippling as he moved to take off his belt. Kami, the man was sex on a stick. She took deep breaths, trying desperately to calm her nerves. 

Gaara glanced at the woman across the room, a nonexistent eyebrow raised in question. She walked towards her bag to riffle through it before closing herself into the bathroom. Gaara breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed. The room had seemed so much smaller now than it had when they left earlier. Gaara sat heavily on the bed with a groan when he heard the shower turn on, visions of Sakura's naked body glistening under the spray of water lodging themselves firmly in his mind. _**"We could slip in and join her. I bet she even left the door unlocked for us." **_He cradled his head in his hands and groaned again when the demon started to laugh hysterically at his own "joke". He lay back on the bed and folded his hands on his flat stomach, closing his eyes and took deep rhythmic breaths. He systematically cleared his mind of everything; slowing all of his bodies functions until he couldn't even hear Shukaku's laugher anymore. There was nothing but his breath. Nothing but his breath…

* * *

Gaara's eyes opened suddenly, his meditative state broken abruptly. He tensed as he felt warm breath fan gently across his neck. The world seemed to come into focus in that exact instance. Sakura sighed and shifted in her sleep again, her knee coming up to flop over his hips and hook around his leg. The arm she had over his chest tightened and she sighed dreamily, her nose snuggling against his throat as she gave a throaty hum that went strait to his crotch. How the hell did she get this close without triggering my sand, he thought dazedly. His siblings couldn't even get into the room with him when he was meditating. His sand would attack anything that moved. 

He felt the air whoosh out of his lungs almost painfully when her tongue flicked out to trace his jugular slowly before she shifted again, her hips rocking against him restlessly. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Sakura moaned and arched against him suddenly, her breasts pushing into his chest forcefully, her nipples beading through her thin tank top. Somehow, his hand had traveled of its own accord down her back to cup her bottom, massaging it lightly. For some reason he just couldn't make himself let go and he swore softly when Shukaku started to laugh again. He removed his hand and fisted it in the sheets. "Sakura," he said, his voice a husky whisper. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Sakura," She mumbled something and snuggled closer to him - if that was even possible. Another inch and they'd share a kidney, he thought with annoyance.

Gaara summoned his sand and ran it roughly over the skin of her calves causing her to gasp and jackknife to a sitting position. "What the heck is wrong with you?" Her voice was thick with sleep and indignation as she scratched frantically to get rid of the extreme rug burn sensation.

"Ryoichi?" He asked, ignoring her outburst. She scratched her bed-head sourly and glanced at the glowing numbers on the beside clock. She gave a half snarl before flopping back down on the bed, her face buried in the fluffy white pillow. She mumbled something into the fabric and he sat up, swinging his feet to the floor before glancing back to see her pert rear poke into the air as she tried to curl into a ball with her knees still under her. He suppressed the urge to grab her and roll her under him. "Where those real words or did you make them up?" She turned to glare at him.

"I _said_ that I'm supposed to meet him at two and you woke me up an hour early." Gaara bit back the impulse to tell her how she had plastered herself to his body in her sleep and moved to get dressed.

"Well you're up now. No sense in wasting time. The sooner you meet him, the sooner you get the information, and the sooner we go home."

"What? Don't like spending time with me, Big Brother?" Her voice had turned sugar sweet as she stretched languidly against the pristine white sheets, her black panties drawing his attention like a flare. Gaara swallowed thickly. By the Gods, she was pure temptation! He turned back to his bag and rifled through it to give himself something to do.

"You're…tolerable," he said and smirked when she snorted in outrage. "Any longer with you though and I might be tempted to pick on you like a real big brother should."

"Ha. I could so take you." Gaara turned to give a level stare that clearly said, "You're joking right?" "I could."

"Sure you could," he said agreeably, turning back to his bag.

"You're damn right I could. Wipe the floor with you. I could-" Her statement ended with a startled squeak as her limbs where bound to the bed by sand. Gaara stood and walked over to her, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"You were saying, Baby Sister?" Sakura struggled briefly.

"No fair," she said with a small pout. "I wasn't ready." Gaara's in visible eyebrow lifted haughtily.

"Oh really? _When _exactly will you be ready? While I'm sleeping maybe?" She glared before struggling again. The sand bonds tightened and she knew she wouldn't be able to forcibly free herself. But a mind screw might do it, she thought with a mental smirk. Sakura put on the most seductive look she could manage and licked her lips sensuously.

"I never would have taken you for the kinky type, _Big_ Brother." She bit her lip and arched her body slightly. "Maybe you _did _read that naughty book I sent you. There's a lot you could teach me." She saw Gaara's eyes widen fractionally in surprise and felt the sand loosen substantially. She moved swiftly then, giggling madly at having gotten out of his hold so easily and lunging off of the bed, her fist aiming for his face. He pulled himself together at the last second and grabbed her wrists and twisted them behind her, arching her back and flattening her breasts against his chest as a result. Sakura jerked her knee up on impulse, her body already moving to get out of the lock before her mind could register more than the feel of his hard body against hers.

Gaara twirled her around in that same instance with a chuckle, as if expecting the move, locking her arms in front of her. Sakura leaned forward and kicked his feet out from under him at the last second, sending them both tumbling onto the bed, Sakura on her knees and their hips flush against each other. Suddenly all the amusement in the moment was gone and they both stood frozen in their positions, almost afraid to breath -to break the tension. Sakura let out a choked whimper and pushed her hips back fractionally, gauging his reaction. Gaara moaned deep in chest and bit the side of her neck roughly before thrusting his hips into hers. She arched her neck and cried out softly, pushing back into him.

Gaara growled against her flesh approvingly, his hand moving to slide into her rapidly dampening panties. She shivered at the vibrations coming from deep in his chest and jerked against him, her breathing turning ragged. Sakura whimpered again as he worked her with his fingers, pushing back to feel the head of him probe through the damp cloth covering her. The world suddenly tilted as his sand shifted her to her back, and spread her legs. Just as quickly as he left her he was back, his lips ravaging hers. Sakura arched into him and he gasped against her lips. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked against him in a steady rhythm, moaning throatily as his hand slipped back into her underwear.

She was dimly aware of a ripping sound and then his mouth slid from her lips to her breast, his hot mouth engulfing one tight nipple as his sand slithered across her stomach, causing her to squirm. Her hands rose to tangle in his hair, and she gasped when he bit down roughly on the sensitive bud.

"_**Mine**_," he growled darkly, his voice rough and deep. Sakura shouted his name as she came undone in his arms, trembling violently, clutching him to her as if she would float away if she let go.

"Oh Gaara," she sighed as the last waves of pleasure started to fade. She felt him pull back slightly and heard the metallic whirr of a zipper as he opened his pants.

"I have to have you," he muttered against her pulse and fisted her panties in his hand, ready to rip them from her when the alarm clock buzzed loudly, causing them both to jerk in shock. They both glanced at the intruding device before looking back at each other, their breathing labored. Sakura closed her eyes and let her head fall back, biting her lip as his sand floated over to turn off the annoying buzzing. It was time to go to work. She felt him shift but couldn't quite bring herself to release him. She trembled and moaned deep in her throat when she felt his heated flesh brush the inside of her thigh, dangerously close to where they both wanted him to be.

"Gaara," she choked out, her throat tight with anticipation. He licked her pulse, his tongue tracing up the vein as his hand ripped her panties off in a quick jerk. Kami, he was so forceful. She had never had a man rip the clothes off her literally and she had never been this turned on in her life!

"By the Gods I want you," he breathed against her skin, but still he hesitated as if giving her a chance to pull back.

"_Oh hell no buddy," _Inner Sakura said forcefully.

"So take me already," Sakura said, wrapping her hand around him and leading him to her. He groaned and positioned himself before capturing her lips in another kiss before pushing forward slowly. He had barely entered her before the alarm clock went off again. Gaara rested his forehead against her shoulder and snarled before using his sand to crush the offending machine. He swore viciously and shifted away from her. Sakura tightened her legs around his hips. "Where are you going?"

"He's waiting for you." Sakura looked at him in disbelief.

"You're just going to leave me hanging like this?" He bit her collar bone softly.

"Mission first."

"And what if I'm not in the mood after?" Her voice was fraught with indignation and rapidly growing rage at his arrogance. He rubbed himself against her slowly, creating wonderful friction that caused them both to moan tightly. He traced the delicate shell of her ear with his tongue before kissing her deeply, his hand fisted in her hair tightly to hold her in place.

"I'll get you in the mood." With that he rolled from her and scooped her into his arms to carry her into the bathroom.

* * *

A/N: -cough- Okay……….that was more than Lime. I didn't mean to. Believe it or not this was actually finished on time but Fanfiction wouldn't let me upload documents cause their stupid and conspiring against me. –sticks tongue out at FF- Anyway, thanks to my reviewers! Thanks for reading! 

Black Rose


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: OMG she's alive, she's actually alive!!! Okay. I'm not dead contrary to popular belief (once again). So I've decided to post early –cough massively late cough cough- because I'm going to Arkansas for Thanks Giving. Yay for classic, if slightly cliché, in-law grudges and thinly veiled fights that the kids aren't supposed to know about. -.- Anyway thanks for all your patience guys. I love you all. Thanks to reviewers and non-reviewers. Warm fuzzies to all who have favorited and subscribed for alerts. You all make me feel so special. I'd like to say that you guys are the ones who keep my going but I'd write whether you all reviewed or read anyway. (still love you though!) You all just make me try to write regularly and update on time. Emphasis on try. -.- Anyway! Enough with the gushing! On to what you really want and what you've been waiting for!

* * *

Sakura stripped off her bloody scrubs tiredly, sighing when she finally got into a set of clean clothes. There was just something about clean clothes after a four-hour surgery that could make her feel nearly brand new. She flopped back onto her bed with a small moan and kicked the sandals off her aching feet. Then she dug her toes into the fluffy blue carpet with a contented sigh. She sighed heavily, and after a moment she pushed herself up on to her feet with a slight wince. Ibiki had another interrogation set up for her in the main building. She bent to put on her shoes when she felt a familiar surge of chakra enter the room. Not two seconds later, she felt two strong hands grip her hips and jerk her backwards. "Shouldn't you be working," she asked breathlessly as he rocked his hips into hers.

"Even the Kazekage gets a day off." He pulled her upright, biting lightly on the exposed flesh of her neck. She gasped and wiggled in his arms. Kami, had it only been two weeks? Their trek back to camp had been a long and frustrating one, especially since Gaara had decided at odd and random moments to pin her to trees, tackle her to the ground, or just plain grab her and kiss her senseless, his hands sliding into all kinds of frustrating mischief. When they had finally made it back to base she had been so tightly wound she had thought she would fall apart if he touched her again. She hadn't gotten the chance to find out though, sadly. A messenger from Suna had been waiting for them to deliver an urgent message from Temari, telling Gaara to come home immediately upon reading the message. She had wanted to turn the innocent messenger boy into a pie for giving him the message as soon as they had gotten back and she had sent a discreet glare the sand master's way telling him that he was in trouble for not finishing what he had started while they had had the chance.

Sakura moaned tightly, bucking her hips against him as one of his wide hands slid under her shirt to fondle her breasts, plucking at the sensitive nipples. _"Trouble,"_ Inner Sakura asked dazedly, _"Who was in trouble?" _He growled deep in his throat and held her hips still as he rubbed himself in tight circles against her. "Haruno-sama?" They both froze when they heard the voice come through the thin canvas wall. "Haruno-sama, are you in there?" He scratched at the canvas, creating a loud grating noise in place of knocking.

"I'm here," Sakura called out, fearing that he'd reach down to unzip the flap if no one answered.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Haruno-sama, but Ibiki-san told me to remind you of your meeting today." Sakura closed her eyes and bit back a groan.

"Okay. I'll be right there." They both sighed as they heard the man's heavy footsteps echo on the wooden flooring of the infirmary. Gaara swore under his breath, dropping kisses to the side of her neck as he did, and straightened her clothes.

"How long?" His voice was rough as he spoke and his hands stayed firmly planted on her hips as she turned to face him. She wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Not sure. It's more of an interrogation than a meeting." His nostrils flared slightly, the only indication that he heard her at all.

"I could do it and have the information in thirty minutes." Sakura rolled her eyes and cocked her hip.

"Yeah well not everyone's as good at torture as you." Sakura stiffened when she felt his tongue trace up the side of her neck.

"Not nearly."

Sakura walked out of the infirmary, feet dragging - she wasn't looking forward to this. But on top of that, she had had to leave the dead sexy man she had been fantasizing about for the past three weeks in her room. On her bed. Half clothed. The mental image was almost enough to make her turn around. She trudged onward though, apprehensive of Ibiki's wrath if she skipped out on an assignment with no better excuse than pure carnal lust. Sakura smirked. No female judge would convict her.

* * *

Sakura trudged back to the infirmary, her face impassive as she passed several shinobi on their way in from boarder control. Naruto shouted a greeting, waving wildly to get her attention. She only spared him a glance but was quick enough to see Kakashi whisper in the blonde's ear. His smile fell and blue eyes widened before sending an apologetic smile her way. She just kept walking. All she wanted now was a warm bed, Gaara long forgotten. Though she had already washed away the blood she couldn't get the feel of it off her skin.

When she walked into the infirmary Mikomi simply pointed to her quarters, not even bothering to look up from the charts she was studying. Hinata was waiting by the flap, a cup of steaming tea extended towards her. Makoto quickly ran up, unzipped her door flap, and held it open for her. Sakura grabbed the tea more out of reflex than any real desire to drink it. She heard the flap zip behind her and moved to set the cup and her bath things on her desk.

Sand slithered around her waist, turning her slowly around to face its red headed master. Gaara studied her pinched expression before pulling her closer. Her eyes held a glassy, dazed look that he had seen many times before in newly graduated Jounin who were just beginning to realize what they had gotten themselves into. Not bothering to analyze his actions and already subconsciously ignoring any comments Shukaku would care to make he tugged her into his arms, rubbing his hands over her back. Her skin was cold and somewhat clammy. His sand lifted them both, laying them gently on Sakura's cot.

Sakura's arm came up to wrap around his neck as she buried her face in his neck, tremors wracking her body. Gods, thought in a near panic when he felt her tears hit his skin. What am I supposed to do with a crying woman? Of course in this instance Shukaku had nothing to say. Not even ridicule and cynicism. "Don't cry," he whispered softly, his voice little more than a breath. He reached up, hand unsteady, fingers running through her hair. She trembled, her breaths coming in heaving jerks. "Don't cry." It was as close to begging as he had ever come in his life and he drowned out Shukaku's incredulous laughter and obvious disdain as he cradled her to his chest, murmuring incomprehensible sounds as soothingly as he knew how—which admittedly wasn't much. He was more of the strike-terror-into-the-hearts-of-hardened-shinobi kind of guy, not the cry-on-my-shoulder type. He suppressed a snort. He made people cry not comforted them when they did.

"_**You're starting to sound more and more like me every day, Boy,"**_ Shukaku rasped, his deep voice laced with amusement. Gaara fought the urge to cuss.

* * *

Gaara lay on Sakura's bed, eyes closed, one hand still buried in her hair, and the other tracing continuous patterns on the strip of bared skin where her shirt had ridden up in her sleep. He wasn't supposed to be here. He had a stack of documents on his desk that he should be reading and signing but his thoughts had drifted back to the pink haired woman every spare moment he had. Originally, his thoughts had centered around her body - the sounds she had made when he touched her, the way she had yelled his name. He wanted more of her. He wanted to hear his name fall from her lips again, her voice breathy and full of longing. Naturally those thoughts and desires had filled his head but, somewhere along the way, his mind's eye had gradually begun to feature the pink haired kunoichi in a different light. He had found himself, wanting to run his fingers through her soft hair, to see her smile at him, hear her laugh, and to simply be in her presence for some odd reason.

He scowled at the canvas celing. There had been very little sexual intent in those particular thoughts and it bothered him. And now he found himself not quite allowing himself to watch her sleep, content to just hold her as she slept - to keep the nightmares away. It was fine to want her body, but he didn't want to want anything more from her. He _didn't _want anything more from her… right?

* * *

A/N: Okay. So nothing actually _happened _in this chapter except Gaara analyzing his feelings. –cough- sorry for that. I'll make up for it next time. Sorry for extreme lateness but it seems that I've been working on so many things at once lately that now I can't seem to write ANYTHING. –dies- So on top of being massively late, I won't be updating this for a bit (like that's any different than now -.-) unless I get something really good (I doubt it) because of massive writers block and a surgery in December. –uses Gaara's sand shield to protect self from mob- I'm SO sorry. Hopefully I can unblock my mind in the down time. I love you all dearly. Sorry again. Thanks for reading.

Black Rose


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I know you've heard it all before but sorry for extreme lateness. I don't really have an excuse but I did make this one longer than some of the others and it has what you've all been waiting for. –drum roll- Sakura Gaara interaction of the extreme kind. This chapter is rather adult so I'd prefer that my less mature readers just skip it. –sweat drop- I don't know when the next chapter will be up because I have a surgery on Dec. 20. (Merry Christmas to me. -.-) So depending on how good my drugs are and how much make up work I have will determine when I'll have time to write another chapter. This is also unbetaed so sorry if it's not on par with the other recent chapters. I haven't been giving xxtokidokixx credit for betaing lately. –blush- I'm not ungrateful I swear. Love you, xxtokidokixx. Thanks for all you do.

* * *

Sakura snuggled deeper into the fluffy covers, more than content to just lay in bed for the day. Yes, three weeks vacation never felt so good. Home in her own bed, with her own shower, decent food, and a heater that actually worked? This was _definitely _the way to go. She smiled and reached under her pillow to grab the remote to the stereo. The machine whirred before clicking as a CD was chosen. Nat King Cole's velvety voce poured out of the speakers throughout the apartment, filling the room with Christmas cheer. She lay there, drifting between the realm of sleep and waking while Bing Crosby, Frank Senatra, Connie Francis, The Beach Boys, and Chubby Checker provided a montage of holiday music for her dreams.

Finally she was forced from her cocoon when her stomach growled. She stuffed her feet into blue slippers and shuffled into the kitchen, stereo remote tucked safely in the pocket of her thick flannel pajamas. Soon the smell of blue berry muffins and omelets floated through the apartment. She yawned widely while flipping an omelet and reached into the oven to pull out the muffins. "Where were you?" The growled question came out of nowhere and she jerked, the side of her hand connecting with the oven rack.

Sakura jerked back in pain, stifling curses. Sand wrapped around her body, pulling her closer to his livid features before dropping to surround only her injured hand. She gasped as the pain faded and disappeared. She looked down to see that the welt that had started to form was gone. She glanced up at him, brows furrowed in question. "The same as sunburn." She fought the urge to giggle. Of course he would know about sunburn. His scowl darkened. Oh yeah, she was in trouble. "Where were you?" he asked again.

"I've been here. Three weeks vacation." His anger flared and she heard sand slither around them, going so far as to lift off the ground.

"And you didn't feel the need to inform me where you'd be or even how long you'd be gone?" Sakura frowned. He was acting as if- she stopped as the realization took hold. As if he had some kind of claim on her. Her heart flipped over and she fought a smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his. He hesitated, not sure of the reason behind her actions and more than a little reluctant to let go of his anger. She nibbled his ear.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. "I guess I'd just figured you'd know where to find me. And you did." She kissed the tip of his nose. He gave her a bland look. "Are you going to insist we argue or are you gonna let us make use of the incredibly soft, _real _bed not ten feet away?" She gave him a look from under her lashes, her gaze loaded with sensual intent. His lips lifted in a predatory smile.

* * *

Gaara heaved a sigh. "Why is it we never get to finish what we start?" Sakura giggled and glanced at him the mirror. He straightened his black button up shirt and opened the cuffs.

"It's not my fault you move slow," she said, going back to applying mascara. She heard a slither of sand then felt his tongue trace her ear.

"I'm not slow. I just like to savor the experience," he whispered before biting lightly. She shivered, her breath leaving her on a sigh. Just as quickly as he appeared he was gone, back to his original post.

"I wish you'd savor a little quicker then." He chuckled and Sakura couldn't help but smile. His laugh always made her stomach flutter.

"Are you ready yet?" She applied her lipstick and turned to him.

"Let's go."

* * *

"I don't like crowds." She snorted.

"You're the Kazekage. You address a population of 100,000 plus people on any given occasion."

"Let me rephrase that. I don't like being _in _crowds."

"Come on. You'll have fun, I promise." Sakura reached out and grabbed his hand before turning and entering the crush of bodies on the dance floor. Gaara didn't resist but his fingers were limp in hers as she dragged him across the room to the bar.

She caught sight of a group of her friends in a booth and paused when Naruto started to wave wildly, knocking over drinks in his excitement and yelling greetings. Ino turned with a smile that died when she spotted the sand master tagging along behind her best friend. Sakura shot them all a warning glance as she smiled brightly at them. Shino, the first out of the group to recover from the shock, lifted his glass and inclined his head in welcome. Kiba smiled his usual toothy grin and shoved over roughly, causing complaints and curses as he pushed to make space at the already crowded table.

Naruto, oblivious to the tension and all that had just transpired, kept up a steady triad that no one was really listening to. Sakura took the inside seat, opting to let Gaara be in as little contact with others as she could. Gaara perched on the edge of the seat, looking like he'd bolt at the slightest provocation. Kiba added to Naruto's chatter, trying to recapture the light mood that dispersed upon Sakura and Gaara's arrival.

"Since the idiot knocked over all the drinks, Sakura and I'll go get more," Ino said, giving Sakura a "You have no choice so don't bother arguing" look as she stood. She shot a glance at Gaara and nodded.

Sakura pressed against Gaara's side and whispered so only he could hear, "Best behavior, I don't want to find anyone dead or injured when I get back." He gave her a bland look, refusing to be swayed by her smile while standing to let her out.

"What the hell Sakura," Ino asked as they neared the bar. "You go on one mission with the guy and all of a sudden your bringing him to parties? Have you forgotten this is the same psycho who tried to kill you and Sasuke a few years ago?"

Sakura opened her mouth to answer when she felt a large hand cup and squeeze her bottom. She froze and saw the blonde beside her do the same. They both whirled to find Genma and Kakashi standing behind them, the former with a giant smile on his face. Kakashi raised his hand in his usual greeting.

"Yo." Sakura felt her eyes turn to fire.

"Genma," she said, her voice taking on a demonic quality.

"Just the pretty medic I wanted to see," Genma said. Sakura unclenched her fists when her lifted his arm to show three long gashes that ran from his forearm to his wrist.

"What happened to you," Ino demanded, grabbing the arm to examine the welts crisscrossing the abused flesh.

"All I tried to do was pet a damn cat," he said with a sour look on his face. "You woulda thought I was made of catnip the way it attached itself to my arm."

"Who's cat?" He shrugged at Sakura's question as she prepared to heal him.

"One outside my apartment. It was black and pretty and I just wanted to pet it." Ino pulled her friend away and smirked. Sakura shot her a questioning glance.

"Maybe this is just Kami's way of telling you not to go around grabbing yourself an uninvited hand full of pussy whenever you feel the urge." Ino pulled her friend away through the crowd to the bar laughing. Sakura giggled.

"I can't believe you said that." Ino shrugged.

"He had it coming."

"You _hate_ that word," she said raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah but it fit." They dissolved into giggles again and took their drinks back to their table.

* * *

Six rounds of drinks later found everyone at the table more than a little ripped. Naruto and Kiba were engaged in a drinking contest and the whole table went up in gales of laughter as Naruto missed his mouth completely while trying to throw back his shot. Sakura turned her face into Gaara's shoulder, stifling snorts. "Loo's like you be carryin' 'Iba home huh Sino," Ino slurred.

"Not a chance. Kiba happens to be the most sober drunk person I have ever met." Sakura and Ino shared a look before laughing again. Shino appeared to be the most sober out of the group because of course Aburame always had complete control over themselves but Sakura could swear that she'd never heard Shino say so much in her life before his fourth glass of scotch. They'd never be able to get anything important out of him, she knew, but it was fun to ask questions and get verbal answers out of him.

Kiba grinned sloppily and threw his arm around Shino's shoulders. "This 's my best friend," the dog lover said to the group, squeezing Shino. Laughter broke out at the table again. Gaara shook his head with a small smile. These people were insane. That thought forced a dry laugh from him. Like he was one to talk. He felt his good mood start to dim and quickly stole a shot from Naruto. The table cheered and his smile returned, widening when Sakura threaded her fingers through his under the table.

Sakura stopped on their way out, nodding to the neon restroom sign. He waited and she came out in less than a minute, a light flush to her skin and a mischievous glint in her eyes. She was up to something. He shook the thought off when she smiled up at him, looping her arm through his.

Sakura giggled as they nearly fell into her apartment. Gaara supported her slight weight, barley able to keep them upright and lock the door back. She finally found her footing but wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a sloppy kiss on his mouth and tumbling them onto her small love seat. He grunted upon impact but regained enough of his wits to slide the hem of her skirt up, his hand traveling over…skin. The hell? He choked, freezing.

That's why she was in and out of the restroom so quickly, he thought. By the gods, if he'd known she'd walked within two feet of him without a stitch on underneath he would have found the nearest ally and taken her there. A hot tremor racked through him as he heard Shukaku swear blissfully. He felt raw and hungry.

"Gods," he whispered. Sakura squeaked as his fingers tangled in her hair, gripping her skull as he crushed her lips to his. He lifted her leg behind the knee and arched into the cradle of her hips. She moaned and pushed back. He worked at his fly almost frantically, pushing her to sit up as he wrestled with the contraption. Sakura wrapped her hand around him as soon as he was free and he groaned, pushing her away. "Not this time." His voice was little more than a growl and she bit her lip as he lifted and positioned her before slamming into her. Sakura shouted as he stretched her, eyes squeezed shut against the burn of muscles. He withdrew and she inhaled sharply.

"Wait-"

"No waiting," he said, cutting her off as he thrust back into her. He kissed her, swallowing her gasp.

* * *

Sakura stretched with a small moan of pleasure and turned over. She squinted against the afternoon sunlight that floated through the gap in her curtains and sat up. The slow throb behind her eyes told her she'd had more than enough to drink last night and she flipped back her covers. Gaara walked through the door and paused when he saw her, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as his eye traveled over her body. She smiled and lay back against the pillows, stretching again to give him a show. His smile widened.

"Hungry?" Her stomach gurgled loudly and he raised an invisible eyebrow at her.

"The beast has spoken," she said, laughing softly. "Not very sexy though," she wrinkled her nose.

"Says who?" He devoured her with his eyes, no movement going unnoticed. She rolled her eyes.

"What's for lunch?" He smirked.

* * *

"I was thinking we'd stay in," Sakura said dryly after the waitress walked away from their booth. Gaara smirked.

"Why would you think that?"

"Considering last night…" She trailed of suggestively. Gaara's smirk turned devilish.

"What about it?" He slid out of his seat and into hers. He angled his body toward her, hemming her in, his shoulders shielding even a glimpse of the crowded restaurant.

"All that we did last night." She paused, giving him a haughty look, eyebrows arched. "Your seat not good enough?" she said, her head inclined to the other side of the booth.

"The view's better here." His right hand covered her thigh just below the hem of her skirt.

"What are you doing?" A mischievous smile curved his lips as his hand slid slightly beneath her hem. She caught it, covering it with her own. He propped his left forearm on the back the leather seat, his fingers toying with her hair. To anyone who looked, they appeared to be having an intimate conversation. He leaned in closer, his right hand moving higher. Her nails dug into his forearm. "What _are _you doing?"

"Reliving last night," he whispered. Her eyes widened.

"No."

"Look around. No one's watching." She glanced around. He was right. "Private." His fingertip rode up the thin fabric of her panties. "Yet so public."

"Gaara." He made a hissing sound.

"I like when you say my name like that, all breathy and deep." He could feel the moist heat of her. "Open for me." His hand nudged her and without thought she complied, his touch branding her. He hooked the side of her panties and deftly slipped a finger between the soft, dewy folds. Sakura gasped and tensed. "Don't move. Look at me," he told her and she did. He stroked her, gently introducing another finger and pushing deeper, his thumb circling the bead of her sex. Feminine flesh gripped and flexed.

Sakura briefly closed her eyes, her hand slipping to his leg. A muscle tightened in his jaw. The waitress brought their drinks, set them on the table, and left. "See," he whispered. He deepened his touch, quickened it. She bit back a moan. "Hush. Laugh."

"I can't," she panted. Her blood rushed in her ears, thoughts too crowded to even consider thinking. Dishes clattered, people called out, laughed, a child cried somewhere, but her world narrowed to the man beside her.

"Look at me." She held his gaze as he stroked her, his breathing harsh, features tight. "I want you." Kami, the way he looked at her when he said that. Her lips parted, the dampness of her breath whispering over his lips in a near kiss as she came. She gave short, quick breaths and his touch lessened. She sank into the seat. "Sweet," he said softly.

"Dangerous," she said, her voice thick. "What would people say if they knew the Kazekage was…" She trailed off as his lips pressed against her temple and beneath the tablecloth his hand slid over stomach and caressed her hip.

"Want to do it again?" She tipped her head back to look at him, studying him briefly.

"You're serious," she said, her mouth dropping open. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I've touched you. Now I want to taste you." His tongue traced the shell of her ear. She choked and her sat back with a smile.

* * *

"Face feeling funny?" He gave her a questioning look and she smiled widely. "You've smiled more today than I've ever seen. Real smiles. I'm worried your face will break or something." He scowled and she laughed. "Amazing what a good lay will do for a man's disposition." He narrowed his eyes at her and she entwined their fingers as they walked. "I like to see you smile." He remained stoic but she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. "I don't see how that place stays in business," Sakura said, referring to the restaurant they just left. "The food was mediocre and the service horrible." She shook her head and bit into her dango ball. "I just don't see the appeal." Gaara shrugged.

"Great place to have under-the-table-sex?" She choked.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if I cast Genma in a bad light. I like him actually, it's just that that one line of Ino's has been in my head for about a month and it was either use it or stab myself in the eye. I do in fact hate the p word but like Ino said, "It fit." So I used it. x.x Could anyone tell that mischievous is my word of the day? I used it like 12 times. XD Sorry if this seemed crude. Like I said, not betaed and I didn't even get the chance to read over it to check for errors. (It's 1:15 and I've gotta be _in the car_ to go to the hospital at 5 and I haven't even packed my bag yet. x.x) Sorry guys. Love you all. Wish me luck. –crosses fingers- 


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: She's not dead! *cheers* Sorry for the long wait. I've got no excuse really since this has been written for almost a year. I just hadn't had time then was too lazy to post this. The story is almost done actually. I'm only expecting about four more chapters, if that many. Thanks to xxtokidokixx once again for being a wonderful beta. I don't deserve you!

* * *

Sakura sat back against Gaara and sighed. They sat on her small balcony, stretched out on the wrought iron bench she kept there. She hitched the blanket they shared higher around her shoulders and watched the small fluffy dots of snow fall on the city. Fire country rarely saw snow and she was content to watch the crystals settle before they turned to brown slush. She grinned when she felt Gaara's hand trail over the inside of her thigh. She clenched her thighs, trapping the long digits between silken flesh. The appendages wiggled deeper into the crevice and she giggled. They paused when her phone rang, waiting for the answering machine to pick up. Sasuke's voice filled her apartment a moment later informing her of a training session later that day. She sighed and made to get up, knowing she had to shower and go shopping before she got to the training grounds. Gaara's arms tightened around her.

"I'm not letting you go," he said. She laughed.

"It's just Sasuke and Naruto, besides; I've got stuff to do first." She tried to tug away but might as well have been pulling at iron manacles.

"I'm not letting you go. To him or anyone else." Sakura paused, not quite sure if they were still talking about training.

"So I'm just stuck with you for the rest of my life," she asked, keeping her voice light. It was the closest they'd come to ever talking about their relationship. Gaara just grunted. "What's a girl to do," she sighed. "Stuck with an egotistical, stubborn, bad tempered, politician for the rest of her natural life." She shook her head sadly. "Woe is me." Gaara pressed his forehead to the back of her neck.

"I'd leave if I could," he muttered, his hand traveling up to wrap lightly around her neck. "I don't want anyone to be as vital to my being as you are." Sakura forced her breathing to remain normal as his hand tightened around her windpipe.

"No one's stopping you from running," she said softly. "There's no shame in being afraid of being in a relationship. A lot of people are." His hand tightened even more, making it difficult to breath.

"I am not afraid of a relationship," he said harshly. "_You_. You are a threat to everything I care about. To my very sanity." His hand went slack after a moment and Sakura was glad to be able to take a deep breath. "I'd like to run away from you," he whispered, his breathing ragged. "But if you didn't come and find me…I'd die." She threaded her fingers through his hair to stroke him lightly, still more than a little dazed from his confession.

"Careful Gaara," she whispered. "Sounds like you're saying you love me." In an instant she was on her back on the ground, Gaara's hand closed tightly over her throat.

"I love _no one_ but myself. Not Temari. Not Kankuro. And if I did love someone it wouldn't be a pathetic wisp of a girl like you!" Sakura stared him down, not at all intimidated.

_**"Shut up, Boy,"**_ Shukaku muttered. _**"This girl is stronger than you could ever hope to be." **_Gaara squeezed his eyes shut as pain lanced through his head. _**"A woman willing to put up with us, with your weakness, is a woman beyond reproach and should be respected." **_Gaara gripped his forehead with his free hand, stifling a whimper. _**"Plus, she's a nice piece of ass." **_Shukaku's grating laugh raked his nerves, leaving him feeling raw. _**"Best damn lay I've had in centuries!" **_Gaara pushed off Sakura and sat back on his hunches, beating his fist against the mark on his forehead.

"Shut up," he murmured. "Shut up. _Shut up!_" He felt Sakura grab his wrist, felt her free hand tunnel into his hair and stiffened. His sand swirled around her, ready to fling her away from him but he dragged her closer, wrapping his arms around her, his head pillowed against her breasts. He pressed his face to her stomach. "Make him stop." His words were little more than a pained whisper. Her hands stroked through his hair soothingly as she focused chakra into his body. "I don't love you," Gaara whispered. "I can't."

* * *

'_Make him stop_,' he'd said. Sakura watched Gaara out the corner of her eye as she skimmed the scroll in her hands, contemplating how much trouble she would be in for ignoring a direct summoning from the Hokage. Even Kakashi didn't _ignore _a summoning. Pushed it around to fit his schedule, sure, but never ignored. She eyed Gaara. They'd sat on her balcony, her fingers running through his hair for sometime before he'd fallen into an exhausted meditation, still not comfortable with sleeping. She'd carried him in from the cold and tucked him into her bed some time ago, her fingers tracing the kanji on his forehead. She sighed. Apprentice or not, no one blatantly ignored an official summoning. She penned a quick note and set it on the night stand before leaving the apartment.

_'Make him stop.'_ She tried to concentrate on her footing, not wanting to go sliding off into an ally or something. The ice slicked roofs were nothing she couldn't cross easily with chakra enhanced footsteps but she wanted to reserve what chakra she had left after tending to Gaara in case Tsunade's summons had been medically related. Her heart jackknifed into her throat and she mentally went through the list of friends out on missions. It could be anyone from the boarder. Kakashi had been in Rain recently and she wasn't sure if he was back yet. Neji had been sent out on an A-rank mission a week ago. Mikomi, Shino, and Kiba had been sent out last night and unless they met up with trouble Mikomi couldn't handle on the way they shouldn't have been close enough to come back for medical treatment.

_'Make him stop.'_ She quit entertaining idle worries, the thought she'd been dancing around all afternoon finally pushing its way to the front of her mind, refusing to be ignored. She hadn't even asked who, had known who he spoke of before the words had even registered fully. "Insanity," she whispered firmly. It had to be. She'd seen Gaara's dead body. Had seen Chiyo give her life to resurrect the grandson she'd long neglected. There was no way _**It**_ would have let Gaara die if _**He'd**_ still been inside the sand master's body at the time. But damn if Gaara wasn't one of the most stable people she knew… How deranged is that, she asked herself wryly. Out of all the people she knew, _Gaara_ had ended up as "Least likely to be insane." Her training with Tsunade had dealt more with the body than the mind but she'd been taught to watch for signs troubled shinobi exuded when they started to become a threat to themselves and others-they wouldn't want another Itachi now would they? - and she was certain that Gaara didn't exhibit any behavior to even hint at instability much less full insanity.

He appeared to have a firm grasp of logic and his morals, tarnished though they may be from lack of use over the years. Could a person who seemed so thoroughly rooted in reality be insane? And if he wasn't how on earth did Shukaku escape being extracted? Why would he allow Gaara to die? He would have had no way of knowing Chiyo or any other medic possessed the ability to pull someone back from death the way she had. The Akatsuki had used his power too hadn't they? How would they have had access to his abilities and chakra without him being extracted? It just didn't add up. It didn't seem possible for Shukaku to have escaped being exercised; he'd had too much to lose if he'd stayed with Gaara, and if he hadn't escaped the Akatsuki how did he get back in Gaara's mind?

* * *

_'Sounds like you're saying you love me.'_ Gaara stared at the ceiling blankly, trying to calm his breathing. Shukaku hadn't attacked him like that in years. '_Like you're saying you love me.'_ "Damn her," he whispered. It was her fault. Everything was her fault. She'd invaded his life until all he could think of was her._ 'You're saying you love me.'_ When he was working he could hear her teasing him for being so serious. She popped into his mind constantly at odd intervals. _'Saying you love me.'_ Everything reminded him of her. Her scent permeated the room. She dominated his senses. Gaara broke into a cold sweat, his breathing shallow. _'You love me.'_ He sat up suddenly, hands clawing at his throat. "By the gods, I'm drowning in her," he gasped. He glanced around frantically, needing an escape from the ever shrinking room.

In an instant he'd climbed out Sakura's bedroom window and was bounding across the ice-slicked roofs of Konoha. The biting wind cut through his panic like a knife and he gratefully gulped the frigid air. He ran aimlessly, content for the time being to just get away from things that reminded him of Sakura. He used chakra in reckless bursts, sending himself over several buildings at a time. Eventually he found himself bounding through trees as he passed through training grounds. Finally he burst out of the foliage, stumbling as the presence of a large black rock directly in his path caused him to break suddenly. He leaned against the stone for a moment, exhausted from his mad dash to nowhere.

He shivered, feeling the cold for the first time since he'd left the apartment. Gaara leaned his back against the stone, tipping his head back to watch the snow drift down. He closed his eyes, clenching his teeth against the cold.

"Not the best place for a nap." Gaara's eyes snapped open at the voice and he turned his head to find the Copy Ninja standing a few feet away. "You're starting to turn a little blue. No winter clothes?" Gaara glared at the white haired man, his only concessions to the cold a scarf and full fingered gloves.

Then again…Gaara mentally took stock of his appearance. The older man did have a point. He'd run out of Sakura's house without even stopping to grab his sandals. The only article of clothes he wore were his pants, not having bothered to grab a shirt after they'd rolled out of bed earlier. Probably not one of his smartest moves. What would people think if they saw the Kazekage running around half naked? Damn it. Damn that woman!

"Hope whatever you're running from is worth frost bite," Kakashi said absently, running one hand over the stone. Gaara's mind snapped back to the man in front of him, eyes narrowing to slits.

"I run from nothing." Gaara could practically hear the man snort but his voice came out casually oblivious.

"Oh, no? You came careening out of the forest with no shoes and no shirt in the middle of one of Konoah's coldest winters on record. If you're not running, you might want to rethink your training habits. Even Gai's regimen isn't _that_ extreme." Gaara felt his hands curl into fists.

"I am afraid of no man."

"So it's a woman." Gaara felt his teeth grind. "Sakura giving you a hard time?"

"My personal life is no one's business but my own, Hatake." Gaara turned and stalked away. Kakashi chuckled.

"Yeah. If I were that in love, I'd run too."


	16. Chapter 16

So, finally huh? Sorry for the wait but school and a healthy dose of laziness has been holding me hostage. Thanks to my loyal readers and to all who've reviewed or favorited. You guys are the absolute best. Thanks, too, to my wonderful beta xxtokidokixx for last minute betaing (as always.) Enjoy!

* * *

_'If I were that in love, I'd run too.'_

Gaara sat in a tree curled into a ball against the cold, head tilted back against the trunk as he measured his breathing. He felt as if he were suffocating but refused to let his heart rate race out of control. He needed to stay calm. _'If I were that in love…' _He took a deep breath, making a conscious effort to calm the blind panic churning in his stomach. He didn't love her. He couldn't. Any capacity to love had been leached out of him by lies and betrayal long ago. He wouldn't even call the affection he held for his siblings 'love'. It was a stretch to even call the bond affection. _'… I'd run too.'_ His teeth was there to run from? Some pink haired- He stopped that thought process as he heard Shukaku's soft growl in his mind. Since when had his demon become so protective of anyone? Shukaku chuckled but offered nothing. Gaara sighed, rubbing one frozen hand down his face.

Love; a four letter word meaning to feel tender affection for another person, place, thing, animal, or ideal. His mind rejected the whole definition. He'd never felt _tender_ for anything, and Sakura seemed so much more than that. Her hair was spun silk, softer than anything he'd ever dreamed of. Her skin was pure satin, supple and warm in his arms. Her smile was sweet rain after months of dry heat. Her eyes were the softest green when she looked at him- color of leaves on the fruit trees when they first came out in the spring, before the summer sun hardened them and the chill of the night changed them forever. He sat up suddenly, the need to see those eyes a fever in his blood. He unfolded himself stiffly and bounded off toward Sakura's apartment.

* * *

Sakura stood next to her bedroom's open window, staring out over the rooftops. Shaking her head in disgust she slammed the window closed. She stuffed her feet into her bedroom slippers, grumbling under her breath.

"I'm _not_ going after him. I'll be damned if I'm gonna be the fool chasing after another man who doesn't want me." She glanced out the window again and sighed. "I refuse," she muttered and stalked into the kitchen to start herself a cup of tea. She pulled out two tea mugs and started to heat water. Her eyes were drawn to the bedroom window repeatedly as she waited for the Fukamushi tea to steep. She glared out the window. "I'm not," she gritted out from between clenched teeth. She drummed her fingers on the counter and turned her back to the window. Sakura added ginger and crushed peppermint to one of the mugs. She paused, realizing what she was doing. "Damn it!" She yelled, throwing the mug into the sink. She growled, the sound of one of her favorite porcelain mugs breaking doing nothing for her temperament.

She reached into the sink and jerked her hand back as her middle finger was sliced open. "Why can't you just drink tea like a normal person!" She yelled at the cup. She probed the thin cut for fragments and, deeming it clean, stuck the injured digit in her mouth. She glared at the window and stomped into the bedroom. "You've got one hour," she snarled, wrenching open the window. _It's not chasing_, she told herself. _It's hunting._

* * *

Sakura paced in front of the window, glaring at the clock on her nightstand. Gaara dove through the open window, rolling into a crouch before pouncing on the pink haired woman as she turned to face him. Rolling them both over to absorb the impact, he pinned her to the floor, watching fire rise in those glorious green eyes as she saw him. He felt her inhale to attack and dropped down to place a kiss on her scowling lips. Her frown deepened as he stayed in place, his eyes staring into hers only a breath apart. Gaara felt a tingling sensation crawl over his body, not sure if it was his freezing body's reaction to being back in a warm room or just the impact of her eyes.

By the gods, she was magnificent: her skin softer than clouds, her hair a frothy confection spilling across her midnight blue carpet like a beacon in the darkness. She carried no scent as a good ninja should and yet she was distinctly Sakura; her fragrance swirled around him in an intoxicating cocktail. He gazed into those eyes he'd become so addicted to, watching as her fury mellowed but didn't fully dissipate, not understanding but accepting of his odd behavior. She was always accepting of his odd behavior. Her chest was pressed to his and he counted her heartbeats, felt her breathing and heart rate slow to match his own. He sighed as her chakra moved automatically to blend with his, surrounding him until he couldn't tell where he ended and she began. As always she soothed his ragged emotions, cleared his mind of his usual heavy thoughts until he was…tranquil. His vision blurred until all he could see was that perfect soft green. There was no constant buzzing of over stressed nerves from years of insomnia, no fight to control his volatile emotions. Shukaku wasn't even a distant memory when he was with her. The pressures of Kazekage and ninja duties evaporated. The stress of dealing with people dispersed. With her he simply was.

He was shivering uncontrollably now, his teeth chattering behind his lips but he never moved. Her body wrapped around his, legs twining and arms coming up to circle his torso as she shared her body heat with him. He blinked, his vision clearing, realizing for the first time that he'd been crying. His tears falling onto her face, into her eyes- eyes that had softened, anger forgotten in an attempt to comfort him. What she had given him he'd never be able to reciprocate. This small, pale, thin wisp of girl that he'd almost destroyed so many years ago had given him a serenity he hadn't even known he'd been without. The peace he thought he'd achieved his first day without Shukaku was nothing compared rest she gave his soul.

'_Sounds like you're saying you love me.' _He wasn't sure what he felt for Sakura but he did know that Love was just too inadequate a word to explain it.

'_I'd run too.' _Gaara mentally shook his head. He couldn't run. He was addicted. And he'd never quit anything in his life.

* * *

Sakura lay on the floor, her hands smoothing up Gaara's back. His face was turned into the side of her neck, his breath dewing her skin. He still lay on top of her, one of his hands combing through her hair. They'd yet to speak, Sakura still a bit shaken to have seen him cry. Sakura sighed, today was just too much. Her emotions couldn't take another upheaval. Gaara pressed his lips to her throat and she couldn't help the bubble of anger that rose in her.

She rolled Gaara off her, pushing to her feet. She stalked into the bathroom, applying an exfoliating mask to her face and ignoring Gaara's prone form on the floor. She spent a moment in the bathroom, trying to calm her anger. She came out a moment later to find Gaara sitting at the kitchen table, two steaming mugs in front of him. He measured ginger and crushed peppermint into his own mug, sticking out his tongue in disgust as he tasted it. He could be so much like a child at times she thought and grabbed the second mug, enjoying the astringent taste. Gaara continued to doctor his own tea, seeing the sweeteners bringing her broken mug to mind and raising her ire.

"You're angry," he stated finally, wrinkling his nose at his tea and finally pushing it aside in defeat. Sakura glared at him.

"I have a right to be." He said nothing, focusing on the table. She slammed her mug down, anger spilling over. "You walked out on me. Just left without a word. Didn't leave a note, didn't even get dressed. You were starting to get hypothermia, Gaara!" She shouted. "It's a miracle you even got back here! If you don't want to be with me, fine, but you don't have to almost kill yourself to get away." She started to pace in the small kitchen. "And I suppose the fact that you came back is supposed to comfort me, huh?" Gaara said nothing. "What are you gonna tell me? That you've never felt this way about anyone before and you just didn't know how to deal with it and left? Bull shit! You're not the only one confused by this, damn it. I didn't ask for this anymore than you did but at least I'm dealing with it. I didn't just cut and run when Kami knows you're not the greatest catch!" She saw him wince, knowing her barb had drawn blood and leaned her hands on the table in front of him. "But for some reason you're important to me, Gaara, and I know I'm important to you on some level. I'm willing to work on this, whatever this is, but if you don't, fine. If you wanna leave, then leave. I won't stop you." She pointed through the small living room to the front entry way. "There's the door, walk through it and don't come back." He didn't move, continuing to stare at the table. "I'll even help you pack," she stated and started to walk through the apartment, gathering his things.

Sand rapidly surrounded her, restricting all movement and trapping her against the wall. In an instant Gaara replaced the abrasive grains, his hands gripping her wrists, his body pinning hers. He stood there a moment, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he searched for words. "I don't love you." He took a deep breath before pushing on. "I don't know what you are to me, but everything my father and Shukaku taught me screams for me to destroy it, to destroy you before you can do the same to me." He dropped his forehead to hers, eyes closed. "You are important to me, more than anyone else. I acknowledge that. I won't lie to you. I won't tell you I can't live without you. I could. My world would go on just as it did before you."He glared at her, jaw clenched. "But I wouldn't want to and that scares me. You terrify me. I have never needed anyone as much as I need you. What you give me I can't begin to return and I'm petrified that somehow you'll be taken away from me." He sighed. "I don't want to talk about how you make me feel or where our…relationship is headed. I don't want to think about where we'll be two years or even two seconds from now. I don't know what I want from this but I do know I want you. I want to be with you." His eyes opened, staring into hers. "Can't we just _be_? No analyzing, no soul searching, just…be with me."

Sakura nodded after a moment, somehow understanding everything he wasn't saying. Now was all he could handle. She blew at his bangs.

"It's not like shinobi get to make long term plans," she said, her lips lifting in an attempt to smile. His lips tightened along with his hands on her wrists and she instantly noticed her mistake. _"I'm petrified that somehow you'll be taken away from me."_ Of all the things she could have said to lighten the mood. She licked the tip of his nose to get his attention. He opened his eyes, the orbs wild and holding more than a touch of panic. "Did I never tell you about this?" she asked and pushed him back and pulled off her top. She turned and lifted her hair to show him the small purple diamond at the base of her neck. His fingers brushed the mark and she couldn't help but shiver.

"No," he stated and she turned around with a smile.

"It's a seal that Tsunade taught me. I focus chakra into the seal over time then when I release it, it can heal major injuries through rapid cell division. Supposedly makes the user immortal during a battle." She bumped her forehead to his. "You don't have to worry about anyone 'taking me from you.'" She winked and pushed past him. "Me _leaving_ is a totally different story though." In an instant sand was wrapped around her body once again and she was brought to the floor. He frowned down at her.

"You'd leave?" The look she gave him was dry.

"If you keep man handling me with sand, I just might." His frown deepened.

"That's not funny." She sighed.

"In case you haven't seen my track record, Gaara, I'm disgustingly loyal. To the point of stupidity even. Once you've got me, only death will take me away and we've just established that's not likely." She bucked lightly. "Get off me now?" He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers, eyes closed.

"I feel like I should tell you I love you or something. This feels like it would be a good time." He looked so tired for a moment that Sakura couldn't help but give him a reprieve. She kissed him lightly.

"Don't lie to me or anything," she said, indicating his earlier confession of not being in love with her. "Just show me how you feel and all words will be unnecessary. 'kay?" He frowned but nodded.

"How?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. Buy me flowers, get me candy, write a song." He scowled.

"You don't care for flowers, food is pointless since Naruto will end up getting it, and I can't sing." Sakura sighed, fighting a laugh.

"Those were just suggestions. It doesn't really matter what it is. Just express that I mean something to you. That you appreciate me and you'll be miles ahead of almost every other male in the world."


End file.
